


Words, Words, Words

by InsominiacArrest



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Psychics/Psionics, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Humor, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, mute character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-09-21 10:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9545132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsominiacArrest/pseuds/InsominiacArrest
Summary: World where the first words your soulmate ever says to you are written somewhere on your body. Too bad Yuuri Katsuki is mute.On a spur of the moment, Yuuri moves to Detroit Michigan for school, there he starts to wonder about the words printed on his arm- and if they mean anything if his soulmate can't identify him back.----Victor Nikiforov is a powerful 'Soulmate Reader'- someone who can help others find their soulmate in the sea of other people. He likes his job up until the point he's 27, constantly around happy couples and his words haven't shown up anywhere on his body, in a slump he retires from it all to become a dog breeder on the other side of the world.A soulmate and psychic AU with a just a few complications.mytumblr





	1. Prologue

Yuuri’s parents figured at first that he was just taking a longer time. Some kids were like that, they didn’t say a word for years and then came into the kitchen one morning and formed an entire sentence about orange juice.

They were patient kids who were waiting for something important or who were just fussy about the right way to say it. It was sort of romantic when Yuuri thought about it like that, 'socially delayed,'- not ‘wrong,’or ‘off,’ or ‘poor thing.’

Picky was such a nicer word than anxious.

Yuuri sometimes privately thought maybe he just waited too long and then became too embarrassed to try after a certain point, like being so late for a class that you just don’t go. The hassle of walking into the class in the middle outweighing any other obligation to go.

His sister was surprisingly the first one to tell him it was okay if he just never wanted to say anything, they were sitting in the living room where Yuuri had been scolded by a customer. She looked up sharply and looked him in the eye: ‘you don’t owe the world shit.’ She was very into saying the word shit at that time, as eleven-year-olds sometimes are.

He didn’t understand what she was getting at the time, he was just as patient as his parents- it would happen sometime he thought, just not today.

The words ‘I’m mute’ never crossed his mind, the fact was he just didn’t talk and that was that.

School was hard, his parents explained it to the teachers, his friend Yuko charged herself as his personal interpreter and companion, she didn’t always get it right, but she definitely tried. Her long-term boyfriend Takeshi eventually joined in as well, in his own way.

He took ballet lessons- not enough to get a contract but enough to feel in place, there was only so much you could do with a coach if you didn’t talk, at least, that's what they told him. He went to school and finished early.

Yuuri kept close to home, he went to the triplets birth, he worked at his family's hot springs, he walked Vi-chan every single day.

He wasn’t _un_ happy. 

Later, he couldn’t explain to his parents what happened, he was looking at plane ticket prices and gnawing on his bottom lip. He didn’t know what drove him to send out the application that night, he wasn’t even that interested in the University of Detroit Mercy.

It was early in the morning, with the burn in his lungs from the chill air and an overwhelming sense of the distant ocean in his vision. He had to leave.

Minako thought it was because his soulmate words were in English, they just said, ‘hi, hello there’ on the inside of his right arm. Yuuri scowled at her and wrote down that that wasn’t a factor. The mark wasn’t significant and it wasn’t something he spent much thought on- even if he did find his soulmate, it’s not like they could identify him back.

The hardest part was finding an apartment that allowed dogs. One close to the campus and that definitely allowed large dogs, an excited boy around his own age emailed him back within two weeks and he was suddenly ready to go. He was leaving.

He hadn't been  _un_ happy before.

He didn’t really understand it himself, but he found himself at the airport in three months. He almost missed his departure the first time when he couldn't quite ask the attendant where his gate had been moved to. But he ran three hallways and a staircase and got an aisle seat. The 13 hours themselves were unreal, like moving through a wormhole, it sucked you in and spit you out at the other side of the galaxy.

His new roommate didn’t ask him to talk.

\--------------

If Victor Nikiforov saw another happy couple he was going to set something on fire. Maybe himself, he considered himself, then at least his hairline would have to stop receding. He was 27 and was ready to bring hell down on anyone so much as holding hands.

Victor was born with a very special gift: a connection to the ‘soulmate force,’ whatever energy that linked distant strangers and entire populations, whatever push that spread between people like invisible spider web threads.

Victor didn’t really understand it, the government found it useless enough to leave him alone.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t delighted, the second he was able to press his hand over someone’s skin and reach inside, smooth out the words like etch-sketch patterns. When their eyes shone and they knew someone was out there.

The moment he told them to go west, go west, and then go west some more. Somewhere in Belgium. Somewhere in Brazil. _Go._

He was magic, he kind of loved it? And it paid a pretty well as well, there was nothing wrong with a Rolex.

But there was only so many weddings you could attend and only so many baby shower gifts you wanted to send. Too many thankful patrons that brought their well-wishes to his doorstep and dropped the ‘we are so in love!’ on him.

He had enough gift baskets to open up a small boutique.

It warmed his heart in the way embers eventually become angry red forest fires. Sure, sure, they were in love and everyone had a soul attachment, good, fine... So where was his?

His own powers, the young Yuri Plisetsky's powers, his horoscope and a prayer couldn’t make it appear, _if it even existed at all._

Victor was contemplating the end of a matchstick.

Yulia Denisovich sat on his couch with the widest smile he had seen in his life, and he had seen a lot of them, her dimples made her eyes rounded and he could count the gaps between her teeth.

Her new husband Abaeze Obano sat next to her, his hands were wrapped around hers like they were floating on the door in the Titanic and they for one were not going to let go.

Yulia practically bounced up and down.

She had had the problem that her words printed over her left foot were just ‘aaaaaaaahhh’ and that was quite a problem.

Victor had closed his eyes and played classical music for two days straight. He got out a map, painted a flower and stared at Makkachin until his head hurt. He told her to go ride a roller coaster in Nigeria.

They had both apparently been scared out of their minds on the ride and laughed for ten straight minutes about it until they agreed to go on just one date.

They were sitting on Victor’s tasteful black couch and a third gift basket of the day sat on his coffee table. This one had oranges, he at least liked those.

“I am just so glad, you are the best Love Reader in the country!” She beamed, “I am so lucky.”  
  
He smiled as tightly as a tuned guitar string and felt his blood pressure rise, “Actually,” He said pleasantly, “I’m retiring.”

Her mouth turned into a perfect ‘O’ alongside her round eyes, “Oh no.”

“Yes, I think it’s time for a change of pace.” He said it as if he hadn’t just decided at that moment.

Her husband gave him an extra tip for the day and a pat on the back.

Victor sighed and waved them out the door, Yuri Plisetsky, the other young psychic at the business yelled at him for an hour and a half.

“You can’t leave me here with these _animals_ ,” The boy barked, “You told me you’d show me how to do the map trick.”  
  
Victor shook his head and smiled again, the wide one, “I am going to go breed dogs.”  
  
Yuri cursed him to the high heavens, “You’re not going to find your soulmate that way you know.” Yuri concluded at the end of his tirade with his arms folded across his chest like two sharp right angles.

Victor collected his coat and turned around, “ _Dogs_ are my soulmate.” It was almost a joke. His lips turn down at the black door in front of him, “I really have to leave now.”

He didn’t really tell anyone where he was going, he figured that Detroit Michigan was far enough away that he’d about as well-known as a ghost.

  
The flight was 13 hours.


	2. "Hi, Hello"

Victor wasn’t sure what to think about the dark haired youth that walked into his office/home/business that day. It was around late afternoon when they arrived and Victor had just got done updating a few of his books from the last transaction.

The young man’s eyes were downcast like shadows pitched to the floor, he had nice cheekbones. A pleasant nose. Clear eyes. A good face. Victor studied him for a little too long he might admit. 

His friend was just as interesting, black clothes, backward baseball cap, and a smile like an Instagram filter you couldn't buy, but a little less captivating to Victor. They called 35 minutes before showing up, but Victor pretty much considered them walk-ins, it was only 35 minutes.

“Hi, hello there,” Victor said with a wave and from where he squatted on the floor in front of a low fence. He used his business smile, which also stood in for his bartering smile, his shopping smile, and the one for free wine from the caterer across the street.

“Hi!” A young man in casual dark clothes and wide smile greets him, “You must be Victor right?”

He nods and looks back and forth between them, “Did Leo let you in?” Leo was Victor’s assistant he was hired to walk some of the dogs, bath them, and generally read the mail he didn’t want to among other things.

The first young man in black nodded his head up and down, “Sorry, it’s so last minute, it was pretty urgent.”  
  
Victor raised his eyebrow, urgent dog breeding business? He opened his arms wide anyway, “Well, I’m happy to help. The puppies are a little young right now, but I can give you a look.”  
  
He gestured for them to come closer to the area fenced off by child gates and filled with little blankets and a bed.

Victor ushered them forward, his eyes were drawn to the young man with glasses. He hadn’t said a word yet.

The boy still had his eyes lowered, Victor noticed they were red around the edges like paprika or rubbing alcohol spread across the skin. Victor frowned, maybe it _was_ urgent.

Victor turned back to the makeshift kennel and beamed at his little Malyshka, a smaller poodle (hence the name, ‘baby’) that he decided to breed anyway. It seemed to pay off as her pups her very healthy so far.

The first youth pointed down and practically squealed, “They are so small!”

Victor puffed out his chest, admiring his dogs was a one-way ticket to his good side. Even the quiet one’s eyes seemed to glow, his mouth turning into a little ‘o.’

He turned back to them, accessing their strange charms. Maybe he could consider selling to the boys, even if they were so young. “Pardon me,” He began in as proper English as possible, “I think I might not have caught your names.”  
  
“Ah,” The first young man turns around, “I’m Phichit Chulanont and this is Yuuri Katsuki.” He jutted his thumb toward the boy with glasses, his eyes decidedly trained on the sleeping puppies.

Victor studied his profile very, very carefully, noting the fact Phichit had been to introduce him instead of say, doing it himself.

Victor went to shake his hand, an American sort of business deal, “Glad to meet you. Are you interested in buying today or just browsing?”  
  
“Ah,” Phichit’s brow knitted together, he leaned forward, “Well...we’re not exactly here to buy.”

“Oh?” Victor stretched his grin to the limit.

Phichit nodded ever so slightly and put his hand up to whisper, “You see, Yuuri over there  _just_ lost his dog, he was a poodle too...And I was kind of hoping to cheer him up, ya’ know?”

“Oh…” Victor’s chest tightened and a pang of sympathy reverberated through his chest as his gaze darts to Yuuri’s red eyes. They were very red.

Victor thought for a moment as Phichit shrugged. Victor nodded and walked over, he clapped Yuuri on the back, the Japanese man jumped and Victor leaned forward, “Would you like to pet the puppies?”

Yuuri blinked slowly, as if considering him deeply, and then the smallest of smiles played across his lips. It makes Victor wiggle a little bit back and forth, something puttering in his chest like a stuck car engine.

He opens the gate quietly, letting Yuuri pick his way into the warm nest of doggy blankets and small toys (very small ones). Phichit hung back so his friend could hover closer at his own pace.

“They are three and half weeks old,” Victor whispered since it seemed like the time to whisper.

Yuuri hesitantly stood on the edge of dogs space, Malyshka had six puppies, all fuzzy brown balls of fur, unsure on their paws and little white teeth just poking through. Victor’s eyes softened as one of them stirred, wiggling its back and turning its head away from its mother’s stomach. Malyshka continues to sleep softly.

Yuuri appeared to be in awe of them, like a tourist nearing their first monument, he finally kneeled down with his hands out like he was ready to pet an imaginary dog two feet above the real ones.

Victor crept into the makeshift kennel and sat down next to him, Yuuri jumps when Victor points forward. “You can pet them if you want. I think Dezik is waking up.” He points to the lively male that was blinking open his little black eyes.

Yuuri looked about ready to start shaking, Victor sort of wanted to give him a cold drink and long pep talk but restrained himself.

“What are their names?” Phichit asked curiously from behind them. Yuuri’s hands slunk closer to the pups, Victor watches his progress curiously.

“Hmm,” Victor stroked his chin as he finally responded, “This litter is named after dogs that have been to space.” He smiles gently, “Since Malyshka likes to walk best at night.”

“Aww,” Phichit coos from behind him and Yuuri’s clear, dark eyes dart toward him, they were searching.

“So that one is Dezik, named after one who made a suborbital flight, that one’s Chernenko, Belka and Strelka, they’re a pair really, Albina and of course, Laika!” Laika got that name since she was his favorite and he goes to stroke her silky back with one forefinger. She just wiggles a little bit.

Yuuri was biting his lip, Victor rambles a little bit about his naming strategies: the last litter had been named after children show characters (American and Russian in this case), and the last one after war generals since it hadn’t been an easy birth.

Yuuri was still drifting closer and closer to Dezik, Victor hums and impulsively grabs the boy’s hand, overlaying his gloved hand over his. “Dezik is really very nice, he is the handful of the bunch though.” Victor chuckles and slowly guides Yuuri’s hand down to the puppy and he can feel the tension in his wrist.

He strokes the little ball of fur and he squirms under the touch, Yuuri’s eyes light up and Dezik lifts himself on unsteady paws. He turns toward Yuuri and his little tongue pokes out of his mouth.

Yuuri’s mouth was open in a huge grin now, he pets the small dog slowly and Dezik licks his fingertips, Yuuri chuckles lowly and Victor is surprised at the noise. It was a nice noise.

Dezik waddles forward and Yuuri strokes his ears and chin as he lets out the tiniest of barks.

“You can hold him if you like. As long as you're careful.” Of course, Victor guesses Yuuri was anything close to careless.

Yuuri turns to him every so slightly and nods, he’s less unsure this time and lifts up Dezik in delicate hands, taking him toward his face where Dezik gave his chin a curious lick. Yuuri let’s out a delighted laugh this time.

Victor almost gasps at the sound and turns to him, “He likes you!”

Victor is giddy inside from the buzz in the air, he could get along with anyone who got along with his dogs.

Yuuri laughs in delight once more as Dezik continues to clean his face.

“Oh my God,” Victor turned to where Phichit was holding his phone up, taking several pictures of Yuuri with the puppy, “I’m sending these to your mom. She’ll definitely send us steamed buns again for all of them.”  
  
Yuuri shot Phichit an annoyed look and Victor laughed at the exchange, Phichit snapped another picture.

Dezik gave out an excited yelp, which seemed to wake some of his sisters, Albina rolling over and struggled to her feet.

Strelka soon followed and Victor got a chance to pet Laika properly as she woke up and stumbled around in circles.

The other three pups ran to Yuuri and Strelka climbed into his lap while Dezik wagged his little tail in his hands. Victor took polite note of Yuuri’s eyes shining wetly in the low light of Victor’s living room/dog room/business area.

He let the boy shed a couple tears over the puppies. Maybe, Victor figures, he had at least helped a little, loss wasn’t something he always understood.

The two boys spend another half an hour playing with puppies and taking pictures while the mother watched on languidly. Victor fondly showed them the canines sharp teeth and strong jaw lines. The right type of breeding he says before puffing out his chest and taking a text from Leo. Apparently, he had a call, and then they should really do feeding time. Victor sighs and gets back up.

Yuuri stood up after Victor and seemed to be smiling directly at him, it felt like sunshine. He put out his hand and Victor blinked at it before taking his hand firmly in his. It felt odd, but they shook.

Phichit looked around, “Okay, maybe we should go. My phone battery's about to die, and Yuuri, you said you’d buy me pierogi tonight.” Yuuri seemed to pout in his direction, Phichit put his hands on his hips as they picked their way out of the dog pen and shut the gate. “I bought coffee at the last breakfast, pierogi is at least worth half the cost of that fancy stuff.”  
  
Yuuri seemed to roll his eyes at him and Victor smiled behind his hand. He locked the gate and turned to them, “Well nice to meet you gentlemen, if you ever want to take one home the puppies will be up for release in a couple weeks.

Phichit was putting his gloves and mask on for the chilly Detroit air, “How much are they anyway?”

Victor clapped his hands together, “For one? 2,500 right now. Mylashka has only had the best.”  
  
He watches both the boys physically cringe at the number. So maybe these were just broke college students. He sighs, and then looks back to the soft features of the boy who just lost his dog, “Or you can just come by anytime.” He says despite himself, looking directly at Yuuri.

Yuuri turns to him, his mouth an indiscernible line, Victor nods, “To see the dogs. They always, hmm, make me feel a little better.”  Victor says as he straightens his jacket and Yuuri was smiling again and he nods, it was a good nod.

Victor walks them all the way back to the door at the front of the house, Yuuri in the lead and Phichit next to Victor. “Your friend doesn’t say much.” Victor notes to Phichit as they walk.

Phichit shrugs, “Yeah, that’s just Yuuri.” Phichit grins, “Words are overrated anyway.” Victor found that ironic coming from such an excitable young man but he hums at the sentiment.

But how would anyone find their soulmate then if they didn't talk?  
  
He brushes it off and jogs to the door to open it for them, “It was a pleasure to help!” He says brightly and they wave at him. Phichit complains about the cold as he walks down Victor’s steps, Yuuri pauses in the doorway.

He seems to be shuffling his feet, dancing back and forth, Victor waits with his head tilted. Yuuri holds up his phone, written in thick black typed letters was a ‘ **Thanks** ’ on the notes section of the smart phone.

  
Victor finds himself standing a little taller and waves happily to the unusual boys. He didn’t make a sale, but seeing someone lose it over just a couple puppies was always sort of worth it.


	3. "Yuuri!"

Yuuri wasn’t sure at that point if he was just a bad sleeper, or if he kept such irregular hours that being rested simply wasn’t an option anymore.

He could feel his eyes drooping down in the low light of morning as he walked, his feet dragging against the dry pavement and his muscles complained to him as he went.

He still had an essay to write for Intro to Language Arts and a lab report to make up for biology. He runs his hand through his hair and yawns, just the thought of it made him want to climb back into bed for the rest of his natural born life.

The dreary weather hanging didn’t help much either, a bumpy grayness that clung to the sky like a sad bubble bath threatening to overflow.

He’s rubbing his hands together to get some feeling back into them when he feels a buzz from his loose track pants, his phone vibrates in his pocket. He reaches for it, thinking it was perhaps Phichit asking him to check out some new bakery or coffee shop nearby for him- the guy loved when new places opened up.

Yuuri rubs his eyes and sees the little reminder in a bright green box instead: ‘STRETCH.’

He grumbles and pinches the bridge of his nose, he forgot his boss had insisted they all install an app to remind them to ‘ _stop goddamn hurting yourselves on the job_. _Bend with your fucking knees_. STRETCH.’ He was that type of guy.

Yuuri considers ignoring it, but it was also a chance to stop and sit on a park bench nearby for awhile, that had its appeal. He slumps down on the seat and does an across the body arm stretch for his shoulder.

Yuuri worked at a warehouse downtown that moved boxes into trucks before the sun even rose, and while the hours were hell, it also meant he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. He had considered a job at the nearby library, but he didn’t know who Dewey or Decimal were, so he opted for the other quiet job he could get.

He spent three hours every other morning lifting boxes and crates while he listened to his ipod, it was a fair enough compromise he figured.

Yuuri was doing a calf stretch when he noticed the street he was near: 6th street. He frowned slightly, he hadn’t exactly noticed where his feet were taking him, but this wasn’t his usual route. He'd walked back down the way from a few nights ago.

The dog street.

Yuuri stood up and put his foot up on the cast iron bench, extending his hamstrings and leaning forward- trying to get some sort of relief in his stiff limbs. It still felt like he was made of taut string and the ‘before’ section of an insomnia ad.

He sighs and his eyes are dragged back down the little urban road to his right, it was a wealthier part of town with even sidewalks and clean gutters, though he figured anyone selling $2,500 puppies would be situated somewhere nicer. Yuuri runs his hand through his short hair, tugging at the ends earnestly.

He had gone back twice now, but both times with Phichit and once when the breeder of the poodles wasn’t even there. It wasn’t a big deal, Yuuri gives himself a private smile, his feet were just following the dogs.

He looks around, checks the clock on his phone to make sure he had some time for part of his essay, then decided to take the scenic route, 6th street did have a nice green park next to it.

Yuuri put his earphones back in and started to listen to something wordless and maybe techno if you listened too closely, he hummed to himself, his eyes drooping down as he scuffed his heels on the pleasant side street.

The air smelled like freezing mountain tops and Yuuri pulled up his collar as the sky became a thicker lumpy gray, almost tangible enough to eat with a spoon.

He gets his first text from Phichit of the morning: ‘Bring a hat today!!! Cold.’ with a few emojis tacked onto the end. Yuuri lets out another heavy sigh, it was a little late for that.

He was lingering by a dark wall of decorative fences when he heard it.

“Yuuri!” He jumps, someone calls out something like his name, “Hey, Yuuri.”

Yuuri turns around slowly, that was definitely his name. A man in a beige coat that Yuuri guessed might cost his entire rent money was waving at him. He had a large heart-shaped mouth, silver side-swept hair, and a brown poodle trailing him, it was _him._

Yuuri blinked and gave a little limp-wristed wave back, it was Victor Nikiforov, the dog breeder.

Victor beamed at him and Yuuri looked around to make sure he got the right person (and not some other Yuuri).

“I saw you walking down the street, were coming to visit? Mylashka said she misses you.” He says good-naturedly and a different poodle panted by his side.

Yuuri shook his head and tries not to snort at the ‘my dog said’ part. He quickly tip-taps on his phone and then points toward his apartment buildings, ‘ **just going home**.’ He writes carefully in English.

“Oh,” Victor blinks slowly, “I didn’t know you lived this way.”

Yuuri shrugs and looks at a blade of grass growing from the cracks in the sidewalk; he really didn’t live this way, he writes on his phone anyway, ‘ **it’s a nice walk**.’

Victor gives him another heart-shaped smile, “Well, I was just walking Makkachin, she gets so restless in the mornings,” the other man says ruefully, “We could walk with you.”

Yuuri bites his lip slightly and his eyes dart down, he did like the dogs, he bends down slightly to pet her floppy ears and she immediately licks his hand, Yuuri feels a little giddy jump in his system, she licks him again.

“She likes you!” Victor crowed, “You must be a natural with dogs.”

Yuuri chuckles and kneels down to pet her again, she practically jumps into his lap and Victor claps his hands together in delight, “Good, good.”

Yuuri rubs her a little more before he can feel the sink in his gut, it would be two weeks to the day that he lost Vi-chan.

He tries not to show that memory on his face and gets back up again. Victor was already walking, he seemed like the type of man to always be in motion. Like a piece of music you wouldn’t recognize if you slowed it down.

Yuuri hums and Victor pulls him along, “...She’s getting very demanding in her old age, waking me up in the morning because she knows I can’t say no.” Victor got into a story about his dogs and the new puppies and Makkachin acting as the little royalty of the house, Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh a couple times.

He doesn’t even check his phone, though he can tell Phichit is messaging him about their lab that day. Phichit was not a fan of those labs.

Victor took him around the green park, which was basically in the right direction, and he talked about an ex-lover that Makkachin scared away through her pure disdain for him. Yuuri listened with interest, he did at least very much like to listen to people.

“And she wouldn’t eat from his hand or even look at him for days, it was a disaster, I suppose Chris was a cat person anyway, so it wouldn’t have worked out.” Victor said absently as he yanked on his gloves.

Yuuri nodded as if he understood, he was smiling- though the gloom overhead was thickening as a cold breeze whipped across the back of his neck like a frigid slap, he tugs on his collar again.

Victor stopped to glance at him, “Would like my scarf?”

Yuuri freezes and then adjusts his shirt sleeves, adamantly shaking his head ‘no.’ Victor was only his dog breeder (who he wasn’t even buying from).

“I insist, I have a turtleneck on anyway, not a good choice, but Sasha was sleeping on the only shirt I would consider today and-”

“Oh, look at her, she’s beautiful.” Victor pauses in unwrapping his scarf from around his neck when a woman comes up and coos at Victor’s dog, Yuuri let’s out a sigh of relief.

Victor turns around to greet a women in a pair of practical pumps and a large shoulder bag, she smiled at the two of them and Yuuri felt a tightness in his gut.

Victor seemed to be promoting himself, “She’s a silver-beige, or a ‘cafe au lait’ as they say in France.”

The woman’s eyes go wide, “A French poodle- wonderful! Do you not shave her?”  
  
Victor shakes his head, “Not French my lady, this one’s Russian,” He winks, “she stays shaggy.”

The women gives a delighted laugh and Yuuri turns to leave, this was an enough of an unexpected morning as it was. He goes to tip-tap on his phone to Phichit to just start with the ‘types of growth’ questions first, those were right in the textbook. He hears Victor and the woman's voice's drift away, talking about something like flowers and packages. He gets halfway down the next street.

“Yuuri! Wait, wait,” He was ready to put this behind him when he felt a hand on his shoulder, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get off-track like that.”  
  
Yuuri smiles, a little too widely despite himself, and shakes his head, going to type ‘ **it’s fine** ’ so he can keep walking.

Victor makes a thoughtful sound, “It’s going to snow.”  
  
Yuuri nods and looks back up at the sky, the scent as fresh and sharp as mint gum. Victor leads him back around the bend in the park and to another iron bench. Makkachin trots after them and sits down next to the bench Victor slips into the chair.  
  
Yuuri studies his face, something tight and stiff was there, as if it had relaxed into something like controlled exhaustion. Yuuri’s eyes go wide, Victor was slumping over.

“You can keep walking if you want,” Victor says with his eyes wandering up, “Makkachin is not as young as she used to be.” He scratches her ears absently and Yuuri glances back down at his phone. It was 7:31, he looks back to Victor.

Yuuri sits down next to the man, it’s the least he could do. Victor had been trying to cheer him up with puppies, and Yuuri already couldn’t compare to that.

Victor gives him the type of smile you see in a morgue and leans forward, Yuuri waits patiently, he was good at waiting for people to talk.

“She’s going to meet her soulmate this year…” Victor says softly and Yuuri’s eyebrows skyrocket, “It’s painted all over her like a prime color. It will be in spring, an accident, and she’ll be smitten with her at first sight.” He heaves another deep breath of air, “I could even see what she'll be wearing, ha, an easy one.”  
  
Yuuri tilted his head to the side and wasn’t actually sure how to react, this was a new development.

“Do you think American’s just wear their hearts on their sleeves?” He muses, “Maybe they just don’t know how to hide it,” Victor sounded like he was talking to himself, “First Leo, and now this, I came all this way...And it’s still all I see.” He sounded like he was giving the speech at the world’s most melancholy pulpit.

Yuuri waited for another minute for him to finish, but Victor’s eyes had glazed over and he seemed lost in some sort of trance.

Yuuri wasn’t the type of person to be pulled into things, but he types on his phone anyway, ‘ **what’s all you see?** ’ He uses 14 pt font to drive the question home.

Victor blinks as if he was waking up from a dream and then glances back down at Yuuri’s phone, he gives a forlorn chuckle, “I guess I am being cryptic,” Victor looks up and his eyes meet Yuuri’s, Yuuri almost reeled back, the collision almost felt like sunburn.

Victor looked down again and then stretched out his arms and legs, “I might as well say it,” He smiled over at Yuuri, “I have a feeling you keep secrets rather well anyway.”  
  
Yuuri gives him a _very_ unamused look, Victor laughs and slaps him on the back, “Kidding, kidding.”  
  
Yuuri just shakes his head and then Victor’s face falls again, “I can see things like that,” Victor looks up and watches the passing people, “That one will find his during a rainstorm," He points at a distracted looking man on the phone, "Her’s is a best friend that hasn’t been able to tell her yet,” Victor frowns and points at the pregnant women across from them, “And look at her! Two soulmates and she’s probably not even 27!”

Yuuri raises an eyebrow, 27 was a very specific number.

Victor buries his face in his hands and groans, “This isn’t what I wanted Yuuri.” He says bitterly. “I just wanted to move far away forever and never see any more soulmates.”

Yuuri’s eyebrows raise even further and he leans forward, he goes to write on his phone, though his fingers hesitate. Soulmates.

Victor turns to him slowly and looks up, the wind rustling through the trees behind them, Yuuri shivers, he tries to find the words. Victor takes off his scarf and Yuuri doesn’t have a chance to move back.

“Aren’t you worried you’ll never find yours?” Victor asks softly and Yuuri blinks a couple times, Victor wraps the black scarf around his neck and Yuuri stays perfectly still.

He tugs at the scarf wrapped around his neck and glances back up at the sky, small bits of snow start falling like glitter dust over the earth- the type his sister used to play with like fluff bits and stick in his hair.

He scratches his nose and then finally writes, ‘ **I don’t think about it.** ’

For some reason, that made Victor smile, he feels the other man lean on him and put his head on his shoulder dramatically, “The freedom of youth!” Victor cries out and Yuuri rolls his eyes, he wasn’t that young.

‘ **I’m sure…** ’ Yuuri gulps as he writes, ‘ **it will be alright**.’

Victor reads it, and then Yuuri watches Victor’s mouth move as he reads it again. His blue eyes seem to sink lower, then flick up again, his mouth is a crooked line.

His gloved hand raises in the air and Yuuri flinches as it comes toward his face, “You’re right I suppose. Ah,” Victor blinks and seems to look at him very closely.

Yuuri feels his pulse blast in his wrist, Victor Nikiforov leans forward and gently touches his eye, a soft touch. He seems to extract a piece of fluff off his eyelash, “You had some snow on your eyelash.”

Victor leans away from him and Yuuri tries to breathe again, his heart still pitter-pattering like an off-tempo drum. He would have to talk with it about silly antics later.

Victor stretches and Makkachin gives a little bark, his smile returns, “I can’t see any of your soulmate energy though Yuuri, that _does_ cheer me up.” Yuuri throws him a small scowl and Victor throws his hands up, “Not in a bad way! Just in an, easier-to-be-around- you...sort of... Way.”

Yuuri laughs as he watches the other man trip over his words for what felt like the first time, Victor chuckles a little too.

“Come around anytime, I could even pay you if you want to help out, the dogs like having a lot of people around.” Victor was like a sunbeam reflecting off snow banks at that moment, bright and almost hard to look at.  
  
Yuuri finds himself nodding, he couldn’t help it. He writes ' **I'd like that** ' very quickly and then turns around to run home, his neck hot around the edges and still wearing Victor's scarf.


	4. From: YP

**10/22**

8:23pm, YP: this has to be a joke.

**10/23**

9:11am, YP: you can’t have seriously gone through with it.

\-------------

2:49 pm, YP: come into work already you bastard, this is getting stupid

**10/24**

10:22, YP: hey stupid, you can’t make any money in dogs. You might as well come back now before you run out of cashmere mittens and come running home with that idiotic look on your face (hint: which are all of your looks)

**10/25**

6:00 am, YP: go fuck yourself Victor Nikiforov

\--------------

10:06 am, YP: come on Victor, think it through, I kno you already probably hate it wherever you are.

\-------------

11:25 pm, YP: I’m going to break into your apartment and drnk all of your coffee liqueur

**10/27**

2:16 am, YP: I was stopped, but you see my point.

**10/28**

11:36 pm, YP: Georgi got slapped again today.

11:37 pm, YP: it was awesome, but I swear this place will be on fire soon, it’s all coming down.

11:40 pm, YP: maybe I’LL move to fuck all wherever and give up on everything like a sad sack :( who can’t handle shit :(( because he’s such a sad sack :((( ‘cause he's a wimp :(( doesn’t have a soul mate :’((((

\---------------

10:45 pm, YP: :’(

**10/30**

7:52 am, YP: at least answer me!!!

**10/31**

9:01 am, YP: They are painting your room a new color. Mila says you’d hate it, here, look

[photo sent]

9:03 am, YP: pretty ugly, huh? doesn’t even match the damn drapes.

9:03 am, YP: but you could stop it….by doing the one reasonable thing. And getting your ass back to Moscow

\----------------

6:56 pm, YP: I got Yukov to tell me... you went to America? AMERICA? goddammit victor

6:56 pm, YP: GODDAMIT VICTOR

7:45 pm, YP: (where?)

9:20 pm, YP: anyway, u enjoying the gay af costumes people are putting on? bet you are, happy halloween you ‘american’ fuck >:(

**11/2**

11:37 pm, YP: this hag came in and was like, all up in Mila’s grill about getting some sort of refund

 

11:45 pm, YP: oh god, she’s doing that shtick of ‘you got it wrong!! He didn’t do the dishes last night!! Love is fake, boohoo’ omg this is hilarious

11:52 pm, YP: she was one of yours lmao

\---------

12:02 pm, YP: FUCK, Yakov is making me do a new reading for her, where are you Victor? You always handled this shit.

\-------------

4:11 pm, YP: if you’re happy now, I got a black eye

[picture sent]

4:13 pm, YP: so did Mila tho :)

**11/3**

8:22 am, YP: Victor. My eye is puffing up.

9:42 am, YP: Victor, Victor, VICTOR

9:45 am, YP: did you throw your phone across the ocean too? It says these are being received.

**11/5**

3:35 pm, YP: you know what? Never mind, don’t come back, we don’t *need* you, you were just dead weight, with your fake smile and fake readings and fake ass ass I bet

3:36 pm, YP: fake ass, heh.

3:40 pm, YP: you know what? I’m spreading that rumor now, you can’t stop me

3:36 pm, YP: Victor Nikiforov had a silicon ass.

3:36 pm, YP: 100% tru

5:50 pm, YP: HA, you leaving was the best thing that ever happened.

**11/6**

2:07 am, YP: you’re being unreasonable.

 

7:20 am, YP: it doesn’t make any sense, you never liked hamburgers

8:32 am, YP: you don’t like denim.

 

10:50 am, YP: you hate the michael bay movies

 

3:50 pm, YP: even if you do like blues music or jazz or whatever, you’ll be living in the same country as John Mayer, you always said you would punch his smug face into a flat crepe

3:51 pm, YP: or was that me? Whatever. It’s not good

\----------------

8:34 pm, YP: here’s a photoset of your favorite foods we had last night

Solyanka soup

[picture sent]

Knish

[picture sent]

Tula ginger bread

[picture sent]

And here’s one of my cat, b/c she gets to eat more of it then you do :P

[picture sent]

**11/7**

7:11 pm, YP: good morning! I hope you’re having a shitty day.

7:12 pm, YP: I hope one of your dogs bites you.

7:40 pm, YP: I hope you lose more of your stupid hair.

7:45 pm, YP: I hope you meet Obama.

7:45 pm, YP: and he doesn't like you.

 

**11/8**

1:23 am, YP: Victoooooooor

 

**11/12**

8:32 am, YP: I just called in “sick” to work :P and you aren’t here to stop me, or lecture me, or do shit, hint: I'm not actually sick

8:33 am, YP: you're useless.

**11/12**

1:08 pm, YP: ugh, victor, Mila is trying to get me to wear a dress to her cousin's bachelorette party, that we’ll have ‘fun’, and she has 'my color.'

1:09 pm, YP: right. of course. I'm flipping her out right now by the way

 

1:10 pm, YP: she’s just sitting next to me, looking at a magezine, still a cow as ev adfoa’odfjgaf

 

1:15 pm, YP: Victor! It’s me!

1:15 pm, YP: Mila :)

1:16 pm, YP: I sent you some messages too, so you should know we miss youuuu

1:17 pm, YP: but dang, I didn't send this many messages, damn! It just keeps going

1:18 pm, YP: you should really answer him! He misses you :(

11:20 pm, YP: haha, he’s pouting at me, like this 3:< haha

11:20 om, YP: he’s such an unhappy kitty! oops, looks like he wants to tussle again over his phone, he doesn’t learn!

11:21 pm, YP: xoxo, Mila, hope you’re doing well! Kiss someone cute in america for me ;)

\-------------------

11:55 pm, YP: that HAG, that insufferable pain in the ass ugly arlg“kfja’pojfeg

11:56 pm, YP: the shrew gave me a bloody nose when I tried to get my phone back, fuck her

11:57 pm, YP: she said it was an accident, but no lady should be that strong, low level esper or fucing not

11:57 pm, YP: U GH

12:00 pm, YP: mila is….the worst. I am going to go rip holes in her favorite jacket.

**11/13**

1:22 am, YP: AND FOR THE RECORD I *DON’T* MISS YOU.

3:44 am, YP: Mila is delusional

3:52 am, YP: we never even liked each other

4:07 am, YP: like at all, you didn’t like any of us

4:30 am, YP: or else you’d be back by now

 

5:23 am, YP: why aren't you back yet?

\-------------------

9:33 am, YP: fuck, I hope you lost your phone. Or do me a favor and fucking delete everything I’ve ever sent you, fuck

9:45 am, YP: you know what? Nvermind, no regrets, read all my shitty texts you bastard

**11/15**

3:54 pm, YP: ??? okay, I know some of these might have come off a little ‘obnoxious'

4:00 pm, YP: but Yukov is making me apologize. I’m not, but let’s pretend I did

4:02 pm, YP: you need to tell one of us (Georgi or me) how to do the map trick, people are asking for it and we're just staring at globes like idiots

 

5:55 pm, YP: DON’T FUCKING BE LIKE THIS

6:00 pm: just one phone call.

**11/22**

6:55 am, YP: I’m still mad at you. Call us.

\----------

2:15 pm, YP: Mila drew you this stupid turkey

[picture sent]

2:15 pm, YP: pls tell her it’s stupid. She’s too proud of the ugly thing.

2:17 pm, YP: she says one of her American boyfriends ate these things today.

2:20 pm, YP: she also says it tasted really dry >:)

**11/23**

7:12 pm, YP: you’re really going to keep doing this?

**11/25**

4:45 pm, YP: look at this picture of my cat

[picture sent]

4:47 pm, YP: this stupid lady I helped find a wife like 3 years ago (lame, her symbol was a bumblebee instead of actual words, ugh)

4:47 pm, YP: anyway, she came to ‘thank me’ and she brought her big fat baby

4:48 pm, YP: the fattest baby I’ve ever seen. They must feed it protein powder shakes. It could deadlift with Mila. That baby.

4:49 pm, YP: anyway, it left it’s tiny hat with me and the lady said she’d let me keep it

4:50 pm, YP: LOOK HOW CUTE PRINCESS LOOKS IN IT

[picture sent]

4:55 pm, YP: it’s on instagram but I haven’t seen you posting on there either

4:56 pm, YP: I assume you’re dead now.

4:56 pm, YP: of arteries being clogged. Or your own stupid ego finally collapsing on you and crushing you to death

4:57 pm, YP: RIP, not even his silicon ass could save him :’(

\--------------

6:17 pm, YP: anyway, Yakov wanted me to apologize.

6:20 pm, YP: and try to ‘talk’ again, just some of your tricks to the game

\----------

7:30 pm, YP: you really aren’t getting these are you

\----------

8:13 pm, YP: I just don’t get it. I don’t get it at all.

9:17 pm, YP: why aren't you home yet? what's even out there?

**11/28**

11:11 pm, YP: we’re interviewing new psychics today :)

11:12 pm, YP: one of them is supposed to be really talented, he’s only 22

11:13 pm, YP: and he already has a soul mate :)

11:14 pm YP: so maybe he won’t run away like a little bitch to another continent :)

\---------------

11:25 pm, YP: one of the girls can read symbols when there is no words, she can also lift up blue objects (only blue ?) with her mind, lvl 2 esper I guess, not bad

11:40 pm, YP: one of the boys can ‘see’ it seems the strings of fate I guess, he’s kind of too into it tho. Kind of a loser. Kinda a tool. Still a step up tho ;)

12:53 pm, YP: this kid can touch people and draw pictures of soulmates face for them???? God, you would love that.

12:54 pm, YP: I mean, if you had a soulmate that is. Which you don’t.

11:55 pm, YP: and why this all happened. Because you’re a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

11:57 om, YP: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

12:03 pm, YP: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

12:07 om, YP: ge baby about it. Huge baby.

3:00 pm, YP: yeah, this last guys powers are a lot like yours, he can see people’s soulmate colors in the air and gets whatever the hell your ‘visions’ were. Maybe even without the headaches

\--------

4:27 pm, YP: anyway, obviously, they are all garbage.

**11/29**

10:09 pm, YP: we’re still trying to figure out if we want to hire any of them. I can’t believe you’ve let things get this far.

**11/30**

4:15 pm, YP: Christophe is asking after you, I’m not talking to that creep, at least take *his* calls

4:16 pm, YP: come on Victor, Christophe makes me feel like I'm swimming in sweat soup. Uncomfortable.

4:26 pm, YP: he showed me his cat. we're cool again.

**12/1**

3:58 pm, YP: bought this sweet new tiger shirt.

[picture sent]

4:00 pm, YP: there was a sale at TopShop

4:01 pm, YP: guess you missed it!!!

4:05 pm, YP: !

**12/2**

9:20 pm, YP: ;Skdjad’df

9:20 pm, YP: I hate this place. They don’t even consult me when they decide things pertaining to ME, literally to ME

9:22 pm, YP: we aren’t hiring new Reader after all now, Yukov is bringing on some old hag to ‘train’ me and shit, to reach my new 'potential'

9:23 pm, YP: what more do they want anyway? We all know the only thing people want to buy is their idiotic love lives, can’t sell them wanting to know their own fucking deaths

9:24 pm, YP: dammit, I don’t want to work with this old hag.

\--------------

2:25 pm, YP: she says I’m going to be more ‘busy’ now

2:30 pm, YP: whatever, maybe I’ll be see people’s deaths more clearly now, like YOURS

2:31 pm, YP: if you are still alive you dumb nonresponsive fck

**12/4**

9:01 pm, YP: Victor. I’m being serious here.

9:02 pm, YP: I’m breaking in to drink your coffee liquors. I want them and I know you accidentally spend a fortune on the stupid stuff

\-----------------

11:46 pm, YP: 2 stories binch!! climbed! Security can eat it

**12/5**

12:05 am, YP: alright. Your window lock was a little harder than I thought. Why do you even still have this place if ur trying to fuck uncle sam over there?

12:10 am, YP: HA! I knew you left them behind. Damn, this place is dusty. Get a housekeeper you rich bastard.

12:11 am, YP: HA!

12:15 am, YP: I’m sitting on your sofa. I’m putting my feet on the table. I’m throwing the throw pillows EVERYWHERE.

12:16 am, YP: this shit tastes like sugar and versace, I’m sending one to my mom

\--------------------

1:30 am, YP: ur relaly gonne now? arnt you.

 

**2/2**

5:17 pm, YP: sooo, it’s been awhile. I actually broke my phone climbing down your stupid apartment and got it taken away.

5:30 pm, YP: and decided to stop this whole…. thing.

5:55 pm, YP: But. I was on instagram today.

6:20 pm, YP: God, you don’t even see these do you

6:51 pm, YP: whatever

6:52 pm, YP: I was on this guys instagram, he has like 75k followers, whatever. I was browsing, he’s got cute hamsters.

6:53 pm, YP: and uh, your stupid large, idiotic, terrible, shiny, bolding face showed up. With your dogs.

6:55 pm, YP: it said you were in Detroit??? It was marked as Detroit?????

7:00 pm, YP: why did you go to Detroit.

7:01 pm YP: Victor, why.

\--------------------

9:27 pm, YP: anyway. If you ever come to your senses. We'll receive awful terrible postcards from detroit, even Yakov wants to hear something from you.

**2/11**

6:56 pm, YP: anything. anything at all 

 

**2/16**

3:17 pm, YP: you know what????

3:17 pm, YP: you. Know. what.

3:17 pm, YP: u kno wht

3:17 pm, YP: FUCK THIS

3:20 pm, YP: fuck your stupid mental health trip to do doggy day care, fck your early mid-life crisis, fuck your 'romantic problems,' you're being stupid, I know you are.

3:20: SO YOU KNOW WHAT???

4:00 pm, YP: get freaking ready, I’m calling it an intervention.

**2/17**

2:27 pm, YP: it's done. what's the weather like? Probably shitty.

2:28 pm, YP: see you soon


	5. Highlights

Yuuri was never quite sure how he got talked into going to things. It was not like he was very good at relating to the people at Phichit’s events and his appreciation of art stopped and ended at his Spotify music account.

Nonetheless, Phichit had the smile of a cars salesman mixed with a younger sibling you couldn’t disappoint.

Phichit made him his special coffee that evening and let him keep CNN on in the background (Yuuri liked the noise, Phichit didn’t like being depressed). He made his pitch: it would support underground artists, it would be a talking point for future essays, it would be a nice walk. Phichit was very persistent.

Yuuri eventually writes down that he’ll go, fine, but this time he would not try their experimental bohemian art cuisine. Phichit laughed and told him he had just spit out the ‘blood moon casserole’ social commentary dish last time, Yuuri cringed and conveyed he’d wish he’d thought of that.

Phichit assures him it was Carolina’s first art exhibition, she was cool, she was very cool, she helped him not fail his portraits class last semester, they had to go.

Yuuri takes them to the store first to buy her an opening gala present.

“Okay, she doesn’t like white wine,” Phichit commented as they knelt down the the bottom shelf of the liquor section, “Maybe bourbon? Is that artsy Yuuri? Or 'mainstream'?” Phichit asked as he turned to him.

Yuuri gives him a flat look and Phichit sighs, “Right, right.”  
  
Yuuri frowns and picks up a different red wine with a bow around it, bows suggested presents, they both simultaneously flinch at the price, but none of the others were too much better.

They split the price and Yuuri reluctantly hands over his credit card, Phichit puts a hand on his shoulder, “It will be fun Yuuri.” 

He sighs as they leave the store and head north, he clicks on his phone keyboard through his thin gloves, **‘is it inside this time?’** What he wanted to ask is if he could still go home.

Phichit chuckles, “Yes, indoors, and a bar! Some cheese or something I think. It’ll he lowkey Yuuri.” He assures as he knocks ankles with Yuuri.  
  
Yuuri nods, he could do lowkey, observing art, less chatter, less eye contact, acceptable.

**‘How many people again?’**

“I mean, Carolina knows quite a few people, her instagram has like 7k! But who knows,” He grins and they turn onto 9th street, “I invited some people myself too. She could really use a boost, ya know?” Yuuri gives another dramatic sigh, Phichit nudges him with his elbow, “Hey, I invited that dog breeder we met too, if it gets too bad you could just play with his dog! That sounds like a good night.”  
  
Yuuri freezes and falters in place as the cradled the wine like a child he wanted to spike on the ground, his eyes go wide, Phichit turns to him. “Hmm?”  
  
Yuuri holds up his phone, ‘ **you invited victor??** ’ He erased the exclamation mark he had initially put on the end.

Phichit cocked his head to the side, “Yeah, I mean, we’ve been to his house a couple times, and Carolina could use all the bodies she can get, exposure Yuuri! And cute dogs hopefully.”  
  
Yuuri gnawed on his bottom lip slowly, looking at the ground, then back up, Phichit shrugged, “there’s a good chance he might not come?”

Yuuri looks behind him and then back toward the exhibition, he hesitantly walked forward, _he probably wouldn’t come._ Yuuri wasn’t sure how he felt about that either.

The gala was tucked away in a claustrophobic neighborhood drawn together by art and frustration. Its yards had old chairs in them next to piles of wood, broken glass was painted and hung from bent gutters, and gardens had the look of someone growing dandelion pavilions to spite the God of suburbia himself. Sidewalks were strictly uneven and people played music they wrote themselves out their bedroom windows.

Yuuri couldn’t say he disliked the bohemian’s Phichit sometimes met.

They made their way past many of the houses to a larger set of squat floor plans, reminding him almost of sprawling storage units. Phichit directed him to one with glowing windows and a large front door propped open.

Yuuri blinked at the green building with graffiti art crafting cities on its side, he tilts his head at the ‘tree’ in front made of old bird cages and smiles a little, it was something.

Phichit took him by the arm and had him raise the wine in the air as they entered, “hello, hello.” Phichit waves and scans the crowd. 

Yuuri smiles awkwardly at the few guests milling about the open floor plan, they all looked like they had opinions on dada and different brush strokes. Phichit drags him across the room. The floor is made of long strips of dark wood that creaked underfoot from water damage, Phichit leads them across it as he calls over.

“Congratulations!” He waved at a group of young women, “This looks fantastic.”

They wave, there were two other art students also opening that night, Yuuri looks around briefly before they arrive in front of the group.

“Thank you, it took long enough together.” Carolina, he presumed, asserted.

She was in a bright orange dress that reached the floor beamed at them, she had dark skin against a dazzling smile, the unmistakable look of an art student trying to weigh down her own soul with an impressive amount of beads, and the distinct smell of wood shavings and peaches.

Carolina broke out into that glowing smile and swept over to hug Phichit, Yuuri shuffled over to the side, “And you brought wine! Good, this party is slightly more lively than the morgue right now.”  
  
Phichit laughs and says he invited a couple more people anyway, she seems excited about that. Yuuri looks over at the large pastel paintings and a sculpture of The Thinker covered in colorful spray paint and tags. He hums.

“You must be Yuuri, right?” Yuuri snaps his head back to attention, Carolina is glowing at him, he offers a smile back and nods.

Yuuri reaches his hand out to shake, but her long arms were already reaching around his neck, he has to spend several moments processing the hug and looking out at the faces of new people. He breaths through his nose.

“I’m so excited y’all could come, I can show my art teacher I have more of a social life than finding scrap metal at the dump,” She jokes and Phichit tells her that sounds better than his. She guides them toward more millennials, a teacher, and another student's statue- a figure of a woman created out of porn magazines this time. That was also something.

The next forty-five minutes is a blur of having to figure out how much pressure to apply to handshakes and nodding. More nodding, memorizing people’s names he may never use. He was at least good with names.

Phichit is bright and introduces him to everyone with a ‘This is Yuuri! He dresses almost as good as I do and makes the best sweet tea remedies,’ or ‘Hey, here’s my friend Yuuri, he can cook and aced our last bio lab.’ Phichit was like that.

Yuuri hums to the background music of clattering raindrops and metal drums as he processes a couple more art pieces at a time. The giant pink elephant painting, a human skull in a fish tank with real fish, towering buildings created out of crushed aluminum, a mime apparently.

His favorite was the wall of welded roses, pieces of found scrap metal turned into twisting vines and roses on the wall. Little colorful paper airplanes had been stuck in the gaps and twists of the metal, it was sharp and twisting in every direction.

He spent several minutes looking at it, ignoring the crowd, and in the process of appearing to understand art. More people trickled in from off the street and at least no one expected him to say anything.

Yuuri ran a finger down the edges of the metal roses and wondered if this was feeling something about art. Phichit took several more selfies with him before trying to gather the whole room up for a group photo.

Yuuri started to itch his forearm, more people dribbled into the room, and while he didn’t have to talk, that didn’t stop everyone else from.

‘Did you hear-’

‘I really think-’

‘Maybe she shouldn’t have-’

Yuuri’s skin crawls and there is a pulsing in his head, he looks around the room, hoping for some glass case to lock himself in. He itches his arm and hunches his shoulders. The room buzzes and he touches a wall and closes his eyes, someone gently taps on his arm.

He turns around to a girl in a tiger shirt and carrot-orange hair, Penny, the other opener, “Hey, have you seen our video room yet?”

Yuuri raises an eyebrow but lets her point him to a dark curtain off to the side, he stumbles gratefully over to the opening and draws the curtain aside to a hallway. He follows it to two separate rooms with projectors and a sightless dark. He exhales and slips inside.

One room had a small crowd in it contemplating a video art documentary on meat processing factories, the snacks in their hands being slowly pushed aside, the second room was empty.

Yuuri dodges into the second and finds a chair at the back. The projector is old and displays a series of home videos, stylistically grainy images with no sound. A woman kissing a baby's head, a little girl stumbling forward on chubby legs, a wedding with the tall tawny women grinning into the sun. The same little girl eating crayons with the mother trying to get her to spit them out.

Yuuri relaxes and lets the off-color screen float in front of his eyes. It gave him a chance to close his eyes and do the breathing exercises.

He lets Carolina’s home videos wash over him and he looks at the basket beside him, he fished out the books inside and realized they were classic novels with words scribbled over them. Found poetry made by blotting out entire sentences, scraggly stick figures inked on every page, entire pages crumbled into different shapes.

He found empty books as well next to highlighters that said ‘ **use me** ,’ he picks up The Tale of Two Cities. He figured he’d give Phichit an hour or two more before he dragged them home for their own good.

Tale of Two Cities was bizarre, and he flipped to Fahrenheit 451. He doodled highlighter dogs in the margins and watched Carolina on repeat show her mom how to bedazzle a bed sheet.

Yuuri gets lost in trying to like The Metamorphosis when he hears a chair squeak on the other end of the row.

Yuuri glances up, already deciding to ignore the newcomer, when he sees the reflection of silver hair against the low lights. He blinks, silver hair and a curious mouth, he had on a thick coat and pressed slacks. Yuuri blinked a couple times, Victor.

Yuuri waited for him to turn or look around, but Victor didn’t seem to be paying any mind to him either, he was just watching the video and sometimes looking up at the ceiling. Maybe he was there to unwind as well.

Yuuri scuffs his shoes on the floor a couple times before biting his lip and looking around, he glances at Victor again, and then a third time. He leans over slowly, he’s not sure exactly why. Finally, he gets out his phone and the glow of the screen catches Victor’s attention.

“Oh,” Victor sat up straight and his heart-shaped smile came back, “Yuuri! There you are. They told me you were at this party.” His hair shifted slightly so Yuuri was looking into both of his eyes.

He squirms a little bit and Victor slides over the seat next to him. “How are you liking it?” Victor looks down and tilts his head, “Oh, what's that?”  
  
Yuuri holds up ‘The Metamorphosis’ and Victor nods slowly, “I think I had to read that at one point for school. Skipped most of it, something about bugs… How is it?”  
  
Yuuri wrinkles his nose and flips through the pages, he manages to take the highlighter and mark a word or two, ‘ **questionable,** ’ and then **‘bug** ’ ‘ **too** **large.’**

Victor laughs and runs a hand through his hair, “I haven’t been to that many art shows over here, but books, movies, not too bad.” Victor crosses his legs, “How are you finding it?”  
  
Yuuri scratches his chin and highlights the book again, ‘ **pretty** ’ and then shrugs, ‘ **cannot explain it myself**.’

Victor chuckles and puts a hand on his chin, “Pretty and can’t be explained, I can think of a lot of things like that.”  
  
Yuuri swore Victor was looking at him intently, but maybe that was a trick of the light, he smiles back at him shyly, ‘ **I'm** **glad to see** ,' he pauses, feeling emboldened by the dark ' **you came.’**

Victor shrugs, “I like to go out sometimes! Your friend Phichit made a very convincing argument,” Yuuri raised an eyebrow, “He said there was an open bar.”  
  
Yuuri laughs and presses his bangs back, he highlights in the book ‘ **ah, forgetting** ’ and ‘ **good.** ’

“Precisely!” Victor clapped his hands together, “And I will admit I have my own reasons for wanting to be out of the house.”

Yuuri appraises him, waiting for more, Victor puts his hands up.

“A young visitor is apparently trying to get ahold of me, and I am avoiding being ahold of.”  
  
Yuuri grins and watches him closely, Victor frowns slightly, appearing to think. ' **something troublesome?** ' He asks in ink.

“Well, hmm,” Victor says slowly, “Yuuri, do you think it’s better to just let someone tire themselves out and give up, or firmly tell them ‘I’m trying to dog-breed across the world in peace’?”

Yuuri raises his eyebrows and then looks back down, he wrinkles his brow and thinks, he flips through the book and finds another series of word ‘ **talk to them?** ’

Victor sighs, “They aren’t really conversationalists.” Victor tugged on his bangs, “Not that that’s a bad thing,” He was looking at Yuuri, “but there isn’t much I could say to him that he’ll listen to.”

Yuuri wrinkles his brow and then ends up shrugging, Victor claps him on the back, “You’re right Yuuri! I’ll just stay here forever in this room! Or move again, Timbuktu maybe.”

Yuuri snorts and shakes his head, Victor leans over him, “Now,” He reaches across Yuuri’s lap and Yuuri freezes, “What are these?” Victor picks up a few books himself and starts to pick up the spare highlighters. ' **Art** ' Yuuri rights, and then highlights ' **relaxing? Maybe?** '

“This isn’t a bad way to tell people things nicely,” Yuuri looks at him curiously and Victor highlights the words, ‘ **I am struck by misfortune,** ’ ‘ **I must leave**.’

Yuuri chuckles and conveys to him that he too would love to get out of situations like that. Victor takes out a book called The Fur Hat, a Russian one it seemed, that he liked quite a bit.

“Okay, but this one’s actually really good,” He opens it up and points, “Though I assure you it’s much funnier in Russian.” Yuuri nods enthusiastically and lets Victor read passages to him.

He is actually giggling as the character in the story receives the tomcat to wear on his head and Victor started to make large hand gestures and voices for the characters. It was silly, but maybe the dark of the room and the little video in the background let it be silly.

Yuuri was smiling, his face kind of hurt until his phone buzzed and he jumps, Victor paused to look over his shoulder, “do you need to go?” Yuuri looks down.

Phichit: **did u need to leave? All ok?** With a few worried emoji’s tacked on. This is usually when Yuuri would insist on leaving.

He sent back the ‘all-okay’ finger gesture, he did like that one, and Phichit sends a large smiley face with another selfie. He had run in Guang-Hong now too, and Yuuri nods at it.

“Hey,” Victor said as he got up and started to stretch, “Do you like beer? I could go get us some, the bar was not completely out last time I was there.” Yuuri gives a non-committed gesture, Victor stretches his arms, “I’ll go get us beers!”

Yuuri watches his dark gray coat swing out behind him and his back disappear through the curtain. He felt strangely warm.

He closes his eyes and felt very still inside, the video plays on repeat: the mother and daughter bedazzling bed sheets, buying halloween customes, grinning. Yuuri flips through the pages of the classic books to find something that might make Victor smile, trying to figure out if any of part of Whuthering Heights was terribly funny.

The other man returns and Yuuri at least likes the feeling of something to hold, and the pleasant opportunity to be less sober.

Victor complains about some kid trying to visit him again, "And he should know, I am simply starting over. It's how it has to be."

Yuuri cocks his head to the side, he types ' **a relative?** '

Victor sighs and puts a hand through his hair again, "not really, no. We... worked together." Yuuri blinks and waits for him to keep going, Victor drinks his beer slowly.

"Remember how I said I could read people? Soulmates?" Yuuri nods, Victor turns to him, "Well, that's what I did. And my friend, his name is Yuri too," Victor laughs and Yuuri makes a face, "And now he's mad I left."

Yuuri typed quickly to reassure him, ' **doesn't seem fair to you.** '

Victor purses his lip, "Sort of. I was rather...sudden. But they don't understand! It had to happen. You understand." He did not completely, but he nods, he understood needing to get away, Victor studies him, "You're young though, you could still find yours."

Yuuri raises his eyebrows and takes a very deep sip of his drink, almost choking, he highlights a quote in one of the books, ' **not to be.** '

Victor laughs happily and claps him on the back, "Oh come on! I mean your situation is interesting," Victor seemed to glance at his mouth, "But I'm sure a Soul Reader could help. Maybe not me. But someone!"

Yuuri shakes his head and puts his chin on his hand, he just shakes his head again. 

Victor leans back and looks up at the ceiling, "Maybe I'm just rusty. I could help after a few more beers."

Yuuri laughs and Victor says it's a matter of time, he picks up their book and reads it to him again with a wink and a very aggressive narrator.

Yuuri nods along and claps when he finishes passages, Victor gave a little bow and they end up cheering with some wine in the corner, it could have lasted a long time. However, Yuuri feels his phone buzz from his pocket. 

 Phichit messaged him ‘ **Yuuuuri th open bar is owt, felin it a lil’**

Yuuri raises his eyebrows, Phichit rarely got drunk, though Yuuri rarely lets them stay this late. He shows Victor the text and Victor puts a hand on his arm and helps him up. Victor dusts Yuuri’s jacket out then and straightens it.

It makes Yuuri’s face heat up in the dark, he wished it wouldn’t.

Victor puts his arms out, “Okay! This helped. I'll text Yurio that he can save his plane money.” Victor seemed cheery, "Or at least that I've movied to Timbukto this time." Yuuri shakes his head with a chuckle. 'it'll work out,' he types and then Phichit texts him again, they go to exit the cozy little art room.

Victor leaves first and Yuuri takes a deep breath and parts the way back out of the dark curtain. Yuuri rubs his eyes at the bright bright lights, he hears Victor groan a little off to the side. "How long were we in there."

Yuuri is watching him languidly as he feels a nudge against his side.

“Yuuuuri,” He feels someone throw an arm around his shoulder, “How do I tell this person I don’t want their number?” Phichit asks as he sways from side to side.

“I’m right here,” One of the guys grumbles as Yuuri tries to take in the art floor room again.

 “Oh,” Phichit turns around, “Well, I don’t want your number.”  
  
Someone next to them laughs at that and Yuuri is glad he wasn’t in the main room, he probably would have indulged in the wine too.

He takes Phichit around the waist and points with his chin to the door, Phichit hiccups, “God, we’ll still figure out the bio dendreet, dendrit? Denfight. Bio homework tomorrow.” Phichit tries to clarify the term and Yuuri helps them to the door.

The rest of the artists say goodnight to them and Yuuri gets a final hug for the evening, it wasn't as bad, peaches were good.

“Please come again next month! I’m doing a show of found textbook art,” Carolina says with her engrossing smile and Yuuri nods happily, he turns to leave but his eyes are drawn to Victor who was looking at him too.

He follows him out the door, Yuuri watches him curiously but allows for Victor to walk steadily beside him across the street. Phichit mumbles directions home and Yuuri nods fervently when he asks if he had a good time.

They get to the street corner and Victor is still walking next to them, quietly, they pause at the end of the sidewalk.

“Yuuri,” Victor turns around and all three of them pause, though Phichit is looking at one of the street cats off to the side instead. “Can I give you something?”  
  
Yuuri’s eyes go wide, Victor turns over what looks like a book in his hands, he hands over the small book Victor had been reading to him.

“They said I could take it,” Victor grins.

Yuuri shuffles his feet and gives a small smile, he wished his hands were free so he could tell him that it was a nice gesture.

Victor puts his hands up and waves, “If my young friend doesn’t find me and eat me alive, be sure to come around again sometime!” Victor winks, “You can pet my dogs or I could even help you find your soulmates, you seem like very nice young men.” Yuuri's mouth hangs open, but Victor was already turning.  
  
Phichit sways from side to side and mutters, “Our soulmates?” he hiccups.  
  
Victor was walking away now and waving some more back at them. Yuuri furrows his brow, remembering all the things Victor had said. He doesn't get his hopes up.

He helps Phichit catch the street cat for fun and then the pet it before walking all the way home. Yuuri goes to bed reading the silly book he gave him and thinking about Victor’s different expressions in the dark of the little theater. Pursed lips, active eyes, finger over his top lip, images running through his head like one of those home movies.


	6. Icarus and the Nail Trimmers

Victor was having not a terrible day, the kind of day that felt more normal and fitting of the new life he went out to find. The weak sun was shining through his curtains and he had fed the puppies and had an unexpected visitor for the morning.

In retrospect, he recognized that maybe he had this was coming. He had received those text messages after all.

But sometimes you like to pretend you are a ghost and everyone you knew don’t know you anymore, no more soulmates, no more people. Just dogs. And, as it wasn’t a terrible day, Yuuri Katsuki had even stopped by.

He had texted this time, asking tentatively if Victor needed help that day and Victor stared at it for a couple minutes before giving an appropriate ‘of course!!!’

Victor placed down a long towel across a poker table, one the last family left behind, and looked around, “It’s good you came to help out today.” Victor announces and finds Yuuri’s eyes who was peering around curiously, “Saturday is always a little busy.” Not entirely true but Victor didn’t want to discourage him.

Yuuri was wearing a light blue jacket and some black slacks that Victor at least somewhat approved of, he said he had the day off, Victor couldn’t say he minded.

Victor turns away from him and whistlers, patting the top of the sturdy table, “Come on up, here Irasika.” Victor pats it again and one of his breeding females looks up him for a moment, he whistles again. She tenses her haunches and jumps up on the table promptly, her tongue hanging out as he stroked her side.

“This is one of my sweetest girls,” He explains as he puts his hand through her short curls, “Toffee.” He winks and waves Yuuri closer toward her so he could scratch her between the ears.

They both grin and Victor has his dog lie down, “Not all breeders do this monthly, but I assume most breeders aren’t as good as me.” He says with a half smile and heard Yuuri give off a soft chuckle, Victor smooths his hair back. He looked around and then picked up one of her paws, “You can help me by holding her paw like this if you could.”  
  
Yuuri nods quickly and reaches for her foot, Irasika tries to lick his chin and the young man is grinning again, Victor stands up straight.

“I can teach you how to use the clippers too,” Victor announces, “For your next dog.”  
  
Yuuri frowns a little at that but Victor shrugs it off and gets his plyers-style nail trimmers, “Ira has been trained since she was very young to sit still for this, but she can be a little nervous.” Victor reaches into a small bag in his pocket to produce a treat and give it promptly to her. “We just need to keep her happy.”  
  
Yuuri set his jaw, a resolve that made Victor hum, he helps feed her another treat before they hold the paw up, “Normally I would just file it, but hers were getting a little long.” He scratches her, “And we’ll be trying for another litter with her soon!”

Yuuri seems happy at that and they looked at her little black nails, “I’ll have to figure out the next naming scheme” Victor muses as they separate her toe and Yuuri holds her paw earnestly, “Do you know any good Japanese naming schemes maybe?” Yuuri blinks back at him.

“Maybe I could call them Yuuris! I know a lot of Yuuri’s now I suppose, what's five or sixx more?” He laughs to himself.  
  
Yuuri shakes his head vigorously and Victor grins, “A whole litter named after you, good, eh?” Yuuri just makes a face at him and Victor laughs, “Alright, alright, I’ll come up with something else” He goes to work, “So what we want to do is avoid the blood vessel and just cleanly take off the tip…”  
  
He shows him how to angle the trimmer to just get the end and split the nail, Ira sits pretty still as Yuuri pats her with another treat. Victor was watching his long lashes blink.

“You really are good with them,” Victor says aloud, “Do you want to try the next nail?”  
  
Yuuri freezes and turns away a little, Victor grabs his shoulder, “I’ll walk you through it.” He places the plyers in his hands and Yuuri inspects it slowly while Victor shrugs to himself, he was just helping.

They both hesitate for a moment, Yuuri fumbled with the plyers for a moment and Victor steps up behind him.

Victor puts his hand over Yuuri’s and could feel the other man’s back hovering just in front of him, Victor has a little voice in the back of his head asking questions but he ignores it. “Here…” Yuuri’s hand is warm and a little worn, sturdy. Victor squirms and guides him forward, adjusting the angle of the clippers until it’s right. They work very slowly.

Victor is going on about the calmness of his little Toffee when all of his Icarus’s flying hits the sun. He hears the door bang behind them.

“Victor, you coward! Bastard!” Someone was yelling in Russian. Victor’s eyes go wide and he sees Yuuri’s head tilt to the side as someone stomped into the front door.

Victor blinks. He should consider locking his door at all times. He heard Yuri Plisetsky clattering forward, he should really lock it more than just for the night.

“You went through with this shit, and you couldn’t even fucking us give us one ring.”  
  
Victor let’s go of Yuuri’s hand and turns quickly, “Uh,” His eyes dart around, “Well,” Yuuri was still blinking at him, at least he didn’t know Russian.

Victor whistles and has Ira’s hop down and he guides her back into the kitchen pen. “I should…” Victor searches the air.

“Victor!”

Victor turns to Yuuri, “You think I can sneak out the back?” He was thinking out loud.

Yuuri looked at him curiously and the other Yuri was dragging something into the house, “I’m serious!”

“You’re right.” Victor’s eyes darted around, “I can’t leave the dogs.”  
  
Yuuri Katsuki turned to the voices, he took out his phone and seemed to type, **everything alright? okay?**

Victor sighs and feels a little warmed at his concern, “Just,” he cringes, “The young friend I was talking about.”  
  
He braces himself and a pair of high tops with purple tigers appear in the entrance to Victor’s wide living room, Victor doesn’t have the time to hop out the back window.

Yuri Plisetsky cooly surveys the room.

“Well,” Victor clears his throat, “Hello?” He tries, perhaps they could all pretend they hadn’t met yet.

“Un-fucking-believable.” Yuri P switches to English and Yuuri Katsuki looked between them in surprise. The younger Yuri drops his suit case, “Un-fucking-believable!”

“It’s nice to see you too,” Victor begins with a patented smile, “Though this is a little unexpected.”  
  
Yuri P. proceeds to flip him off. “You brought this on yourself.”  
  
“Uh.”  
  
“Couldn’t answer one damn phone call.”  
  
Victor put his hands up defensively, “I’m retired.”  
  
“I’ll retire your face!” Victor could practically roll his eyes up into the hemisphere.

Yuri glanced at the other Yuuri, “Who’s this?” He snaps, “I assume you're not working, a boy toy?” Yuuri K’s mouth hangs open at being accused of being a boy toy, “He looks like your type.”  
  
Victor regretted a lot of things at that moment, most things actually.

“He’s a friend who helps with the dogs,” Victor gestured toward the pen, “I breed dogs now! Honest living. You guys...Really don’t need me.” He murmurs as he tries to work this through.

Yuri P scowled like a cat tossed into a cold bath, he stiffly walks forward and sits angrily down on one of the couches, “Oh right, and when the customers come in with a ‘where’s Victor?’ and ‘I want a map direction to my soulmate!’ I’m just supposed to pull the map trick out of my ass. Right.”  
  
Victor’s shoulders sunk, “I don’t do soul mates anymore.”  
  
“Right, right,” Yuri says airily as he waves his hand and then sprouts a small smirk, “because you don’t have one.”

Depressing. Victor thinks about how he should answer text messages.

He blows air out of his nose, “Well, I’m here breeding dogs. There isn’t anything else to see.” Yuri P was giving him a piercing look, they stand still for a moment.

“Helloooo!” A female voice carries over to the other side of the house, “Yuri,” She sings, “you really shouldn’t run off like that, we barely know if this is the right house.”

Victor’s raises his eyebrows, “You brought Mila?”  
  
Yuri P just shakes his head, “The hag insisted on coming. She said it might not be safe without her whatever powers, but she just wants be a nuisance.”  
  
Victor looked around and could here Mila dragging something in too, “Yuri? Victor? Are you here, I brought gifts!”

Victor looks down at his shoes, “Okay, one second.” This seemed to be just the thing he was walking into, he goes off into the entranceway as he leaves the Yuuri’s for a moment.

“Mila,” Victor blinked as he saw Mila standing in the doorway also with a bag, “You all really didn’t need to…”  
  
Mila took her extra-large red suitcase easily inside and opens her arms wide, “Victor!” She cheers and comes forward, “so this was the right place.”  
  
He finds himself wrapped in a tight hug and this wasn’t what he was expecting from the day. Victor pats her back stiffly, “Well, it’s good to see you all. Briefly.” He emphasizes, he was trying to leave this all behind.

Mila steps back and grins, “Yuri wants to convince you to come back.” She whispers and puts a finger in the air, “I also wanted to get away from Georgi crying, a second breakup with what's-her-name.”  
  
“Really,” Victor leaned forward, it was true he hadn’t contacted his friends in a bit. Mila was a sure source of ‘news.’

Then he heard some strange bickering, or at least from Yuri P in the other room.

“What, why are you typing to me? Just answer the question!” Victor froze and turned around in a whirl, this was too many balls to juggle.

He hurries back into the room he just left and sees maybe he should have let Yuuri K head, out, he was holding up his phone to younger Yuri.

“I don’t know what alalia is, what the hell.” Yuri P was still pouting, Victor put his hands up and entered the room again.

“Where is your hotel?” He asks quickly, “I’m sure you must be tired.” He smiles widely, maybe he finish his dog-nail session if he did this right.

Yuri P glanced up, “What’s his problem?” He was pointing at Yuuri K. now.

Victor stepped between them, “Yuuri isn’t much of a talker, really.”  
  
Yuri P rolled his eyes, having put his feet up on the table, “Of course. You’d want to hang out with the opposite of people with soulmates.”  
  
Victor scowled at him, “So the customers back home aren’t happy? I heard you got a black eye.” He says innocently, maybe with a hint of threat, Yuri P just shakes his head.

“Come on, you know they wouldn’t be. Their favorite Victor ran off.”

“I retired. It had to happen.”  
  
“Oh, and without warning? I’m not having it.”  
  
Victor sighs and turns to Yuuri Katsuki, “Can I see you out? I seem to have some other business to attend to.”

Yuuri blinked at him and pointed at his phone for a moment, **need help?**

He grinned, it was a little better. “Not this time.”

“Victor,” Mila was now in the living room entrance way too, “This house is big, you live here alone?” He just waves at her, “Who’s that? He’s cute.” She at least switches to Russian for that part.

“This is Yuuri Katsuki,” He waves, “Like our Yuuri but not at all like him.” She laughs and Victor hurries Yuuri K to the door.

Victor gets them away for at least a moment, “Hopefully this will be quick.” He grins, perhaps a little forcefully, as Yuuri K puts on his hat, “We’ll have to do this again.”

Yuuri looked up, he held up one last message, **Do they need anything?**

Victor chuckles, “A break I assume.” Victor sighs and looks at his feet, “I appreciate it, but they’re just here for something silly.” Yuuri raised his eyebrows, Victor fiddles with the door knob, “Something I can’t give them.”

Yuuri K studies him and Victor rubs a hand through his own hair again.

He jumps when he feels a hand on his shoulder, he looks up and Yuuri Katsuki is holding his eyes, something strong and unexpected. The hold is a little reassuring.

Yuuri pats him and Victor can just blink, something tumbling around unknowably on the edges. Victor sees something faintly blue color in the air around Yuuri. Oh no.

Yuuri turns around and waves, giving him an encouraging thumbs up. Victor waves weakly back, “Bye…” He bites his lip, “We can try this again sometime!” Yuuri heads off and Victor can just remember the faint blue, blue, blue around him.

For once in his life Victor had no idea what that meant.

Victor turns around and attempts to shake it out of his head, he shuts the door behind him.

Yuri Plisetsky had followed him to the hallway, crossing his arms across this narrow chest. Victor squares his shoulders.

“I hope you know I don’t have much to offer.”  
  
Yuri P frowns at him sourly. “Well, we aren’t leaving until you come back to Russia. We have work.”  
  
Victor looks up at the ceiling and sighs, “I want my coffee liquors back by the way.”  
  
“Hell no.”

Mila laughed, “This will be a great vacation.”  
  
“Did you meet Obama?” Yuri P asked and Victor furrowed his brow.

“Please tell me you have a hotel.”  
  
They just looked at him blankly. They were staying it seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have a spin-off series focused on Yuri and Mila's stay in the city, but we'll see!


	7. Who Knows

The air smelled like crackling citrus, chutney, and a cold dryness from outside where the wind whipped against their apartment windows with invisible angry fingers. Yuuri hears the tune of some spanish song through the walls, it’s poppy and bright and feels like you’re being broken up with by a girl who’s singing about being better off for it. Phichit attempts to gingerly warble along to it in the other room despite not knowing the words or those neighbors.

 

Yuuri rubs his eyes and raps his knuckles on the messy coffee table in front of him, graphite letters float uselessly in his vision. _Onomatopoeia…_ He feels out the word in his head. Between the vowels, the consonants, and his gathering headache it wasn’t a very helpful sort of word.

 

The lights from the kitchen burnish the left side of the room, he slumps on the right and their brown corduroy couch helpfully sucks him lower into the depths of the folded clingy fabric. They got the couch from their upstairs neighbor when she passed away. It still smelled like her five cats, but he hadn’t minded that yet.

 

 _Onomatopoeia?_ The television flashes in front of him and he changes the phrase into a question.

 

_Onomatopoeia?_

 

A question, on why the English would invent such a word or want this word or boil steak for that matter. It was just a curious world.

 

Yuuri pushes his bangs back in frustration and checks on whatever was happening on the screen as a distraction. The show itself was on mute, an aftereffect of wanting to hear their neighbor’s music and the fact it was, as Phichit sometimes called it, ‘trash TV.’

 

Yuuri can’t really take his eyes off the trash tv for a moment. A blonde woman had on a lustrous smile, and he thought the word lustrous like he thought of a well-groomed dog in a conformation show. He learned a lot of words on that program and the ratings of a Border Collie’s coat was one of them, and on how they were preened.

 

And this lady was preened.

 

She grinned from ear to ear, fly-away long blonde hair tastefully tossed over her shoulder and a thin white half-top showed off a strip of her stomach before a tailored pair of bell-bottoms. Yuuri was examining her as the smell of citrus swamped the apartment, wafting through and telling him that Phichit was at least giving their vents a work out.

 

He sniffs, thinking about dinner, and classes and chucking his flashcards accidently out the window. He didn’t know why he needed to know what a word for words that sounded like other words was.

 

He sighs, the woman on screen breaks into a gigantic smile, a type of picture-shattering smile, a smile that could power cities on wattage alone, a smile with its own weather channel. She jumps out of her chair and the announcement must have gone off.

 

One of the walls of the wooden stage start to fall, the woman puts her hands over her mouth, her nails are smiling perfect ovals, Dr. Love-Thought saunters back on stage. The ‘doctor’ has in a pressed white suit that glows under the bright TV lights and he strokes his thick mustache. Phichit always said he looked like an Elvis Presley trying to sneak you into a five-star restaurant without reservations or even asking you out first.

 

Dr. Love-Thought throws his arms up, showing off his large hands and his soulmate tattoo on his pinky finger. He dramatically says something and then steps aside, Yuuri watches the crowd go wild as the camera pans the audience’s ecstatic, yelling faces.

 

A shirtless man walks out in black slacks and holding a bouquet of roses, his soulmate words on full display as he struts. The woman starts to cry, she holds up her arm to reveal a smeared black tattoo. It said, in properly flowing font, ‘you’re beautiful.’

 

The man smiles with similarly ‘preened’ straight teeth and gets down on one knee. He looks up at her with searching brown eyes and says a brief word. Yuuri can guess what it is.

 

The woman jumps up and down and lets out some sort of exclamative, it apparently matches and Dr. Love Thought riles the crowd into a frenzy as the couple swoops into a kiss. Animated hearts circle them.

 

Yuuri sighs deeply, and looks down at his dry hands covering his next flashcard. So Border Collie woman had been united with her true love, of course, very good.

 

The credits start to roll on Dr. Love Thought’s face, he held up a pair of glasses or ‘Destiny Diviner’s.’ Yuuri already knew what he was selling, they were supposed to show you the fastest route to your soulmate through giving ‘signs’ or ‘Fate Feelings’ when you wear them.

 

They were blue-lensed things with golden frames and a little earmark in the corner, Diviner Glasses, Yuuri sighs deeply, sure, Dr. Love Thought was a certified psychic.

 

He searches the faces of the couple as the camera pans to their last kiss, Yuuri holds his breath for a long moment until the next commercial blared to life, he gives into another long exhale.

 

“I hear a lot of sighing in there!” Yuuri sits up straight as Phichit walked out of the kitchen and back into their living room, wiping his hands down on a rag and blinking. “Tell me you started the biology homework, one of us really should.”  
  
Yuuri frowned at him and just held up his Language Arts flash cards he was working on instead, he had that test first.

 

Phichit gives out a dramatic lurch and practically falls onto the couch, “I’ll try and copy off Samantha tomorrow maybe.” Yuuri shakes his head but he was smiling.

 

He points to Phichit’s stained hands and then searches himself for his phone to ask, Phichit already had his hands up. “It’s an orange chicken recipe Yuuri. It takes time and love and a lot of orange juice I’ve discovered,” he grins, “some lady was handing out recipe books at the bus stop.”  
  
Yuuri cringed shortly at him and Phichit laughs, “ _my_ night to cook. Then you can attempt to make pork cutlet bowls again for the hundredth time next weekend.”

 

He sticks his tongue out slightly and Phichit laughs again, “anyway, it’ll be just a little and you sho- wait!” Phichit’s eyes wander to the TV and he straightens up, “Animal Communion is coming on and you didn’t even tell me?!”

 

Phichit’s makes an indignant noise and flounders around on the couch, “turn it up, turn it up.”  


Yuuri looks back to the TV and the next evening television program for tired mothers and pets left at home with background noise comes on.

 

The clunky chichi letters ‘Animal Communion’ comes on the screen as it pans over a series of cats, dogs, parrots, and an elephant all stomping and hissing or howling on screen. It ends with a dark-haired serious man staring into the camera, he holds out his rainbow-paneled flamboyant shirt and walks toward a kicking horse.

 

“....when no one else can understand them!” Phichit had found the remote, he turned the volume all the way up. “The beast listener is here!”

 

Yuuri leans backward as the animal psychic Lee Seung Gil was announced. Yuuri glances at Phichit to try and remind him that he also cooking at that moment.

 

Phichit just waves him off and looks, “there he is…” He grabs Yuuri’s shoulder and shakes it, “do you think he’s looking for me yet?”

 

Yuuri scrunches up his nose and writes on the nearest flashcard: **you said that sort of thing about that young bus driver last week too**.

 

“He was a very handsome and potentially sarcastic bus driver Yuuri!” Phichit says stubbornly before turning the tv even more up, “and that was just musing,” he turns his eyes back to the screen, “this is completely, definitely real.”

 

Phichit’s soulmate tattoo appeared when he was fourteen, faint, smeared, and messy, but became more apparent through puberty. It just ended up saying, ‘that’s not the right way to hold hamsters.’

 

Since then, Phichit had apparently spent a lot of time trying to hold hamsters in front of movie stars and cute bicyclists (with no hamsters harmed in the making of his love life of course).

 

He was now also almost-completely-convinced that the swooping fretting letters of the tattoo represented the popular television psychic Lee Seung Gil. He said it was ‘in the eyes.’

  
Seung Gil was apparently dealing with a Husky dog that week that refused to leave the house before she would start whining and hiding behind her master. They needed to find out what was wrong and a lot of baritone piano music played at key points or when they so much as opened doors.

 

Yuuri kicks Phichit gently and points back to the kitchen, it was starting to smell dangerously citrus-y at that point.

 

“It’s cooking, it’s cooking,” Phichit pushes him back, his eyes still glued to the monotone dark-haired man looking into ‘Sasha’, the husky's, face deeply. “Also, I came in here to say that you left your phone on the counter. It’s been buzzing for like ten minutes now.”  
  
Yuuri raised both his eyebrows, he pushes his flashcards aside and moves to stand up. Phichit was now the one sighing at the television.

 

“He’s going to talk to her Yuuri! There he goes!” Phichit inched toward the TV and stroked the screen where Seung Gil was touching his forehead to the dogs. Phichit looked like he might tear up, Seung Gil looked like he could be shopping for linens.

 

Yuuri pats his back as he passes him and edges into the next room.

 

He can hear his ankle joints pop as he walks and he wonders if his age on his birth certificate was a lie, from how much he enjoyed quiet, nights-in, and scrabble he figured it could be a little higher.

 

Yuuri hears the soft buzzing of his phone as soon as he enters the kitchen, he checks on the orange chicken dish in the oven just in case first and then reaches for his messages.

 

He had sixteen missed texts from a Victor Nikiforov. His eyebrows raise.

 

**Dog Breeder on 6th street :)**

_6:47_

where do they even sell vintage tiger shirts?

 

Yuuri scrolls down to read all of the texts from the beginning.

 

_5:46_

Yuuri have I ever told you that it is very practical of someone NOT to play heavy scream music at 12 at night in order to annoy their hosts?

_5:48_

And that it isn’t actually a very effective way of making them go anywhere. Especially back to Moscow.

_5:51_

Also, it’s a very good way to have your neighbors kick your recycle bin to the other side of the street.

_6:15_

This house is suddenly feeling far too small, much like the last continent did. Unappealing really.

_6:17_

Yuuri do you not feel my pain?

_6:20_

Oh! But look at Dezik

[PICTURE SENT]

He yawned today, look at him stretch! I’m thinking of getting them little outfits for a christmas card

[PICTURE SENT]

_6:21_

A good idea, right?

_6:33_

But how was your day?

_6:35_

Yuuri :(

 

He started to feel bad by the third text and stops reading to scroll back up and respond to some of the newer messages as quickly as possible. He starts type things that he hoped sounded consolatory and then quite a few emojis pertaining to his feelings about Dezik and small elf ears.

 

He’s almost done when his phone itself starts to vibrate in his hands, a call, his shoulders sink slightly as he scowls at it. He doubted Victor was thinking very thoroughly about this but Yuuri was more of a text person for obvious reasons.

 

His phone buzzes again in his hands.

 

He stares at it for another moment before giving in and just pressing the green little accept button.

 

“Yuuri!” Victor cheers immediately, “I’m so glad.”  
  
Yuuri just hums back to assure him he had heard him, and no, this probably wasn’t the strongest form of communication Victor, _Victor_. Victor was in a bit of tizzy though.

 

“How was your day? I hope you are doing well,” Victor said cheerily but Yuuri could almost sense the underlying tension in his voice, “You wouldn’t happen to have a spare recycling bin, would you? Or, oh! You still have my scarf right? Perhaps I could come get that, it’s been awhile.” Victor gives a breathy laugh.

 

Yuuri hums back in recognition and casually walks back out of the kitchen to locate Phichit.

 

“I mean, I wouldn’t want to impose, it is a Sunday night. But I could bring wine! Or gifts. Or Makkachin, can I bring Makkachin? Where do you live again?”  
  
Yuuri sighs this time and puts Victor on speaker phone. “Oh,” Victor seems to realize himself, “wait, wait, you can just text me it. Oh my gosh, yes, texting is good.”  
  
Yuuri gives a gentle snort and Phichit looks up from the TV where he was watching The Animal Communer bump fists with a kangaroo.

 

He looks up, “hey is that Victor? I’d thought he’d be the one calling.”  
  
“Oh!” Victor hears himself on speaker, “is that Phichit?”  
  
Phichit leans back on the couch, “Tell him if he wants to come over he has to kill the spider in the bathtub. Someone needs to do it and I don’t want to ask our neighbor to use their shower again.”  
  
Yuuri chuckles and has the computer on his phone say a simple metallic ‘goodbye’ for him. Victor texts him another five apologies and Yuuri tells him it’s not a big deal, he can just bring that wine. A red maybe, one that would go with Orange Chicken you make from a cookbook given out by random ladies at the bus stop.

 

Victor sent a couple more smiley faces and a heart at that.

 

Yuuri smiles at it for another minute and walks back into the living room to sit down and continue ignoring his flashcards staring him down from across the table.

 

Phichit looked up from the screen as the TV went on commercial, “so he’s coming over, huh?” Yuuri nods and Phichit tilts his head at him, “should I,” he gives a wide grin, “clear out for the night?”  
  
Yuuri throws the nearest toss pillow at him, Phichit puts his hands up to defend himself, “just kidding, just kidding!” Yuuri rolls his eyes and Phichit stares at him for a moment longer, “he gonna find any of us soulmates then?”  
  
Yuuri shrugs noncommittally and takes out his phone, he opens his notes section for a quick message: **who knows.**


	8. Visitors Welcome (Rooms: Occupied)

Victor didn’t know what he expected when he showed up at Yuuri Katsuki’s apartment at 7:20 on a Sunday night, mostly he was focusing on ‘going there’ rather than ‘being there.’

 

Seeing the young Japanese man smile at his arrival was a pretty good justification for it though, his face going soft like rising bread. Victor put his arms out, “Yuuri!” He cheers and holds up his paper bag in his hands, “I brought a pinot.”  
  
Yuuri just smiles with a slight head shake and steps aside to let him in, Victor wasn’t sure if he should hug him or not, he settles for gesturing Makkachin in and patting his shoulder.

 

Yuuri closed the door behind him and immediately knelt down to pet Makkachin, who licked his face and nosed at his clear glasses. Victor grins down and reaches to take off his coat, “Sorry it’s so last minute.” He says to the empty air and Yuuri was still petting his dog.

 

Victor put the bottle of wine down on the table and tried to flatten his hair out from the wind ravaging it outside. He doesn’t get very far when he fears another pair of footsteps.

 

“Victor,” He sees a young man walk into their small entrance way that immediately opened up into a small dining area and fed into the kitchen. Phichit waves, “come in, come in, take your coat off, I _just_ made way more orange chicken then we can eat.”

 

Victor scratched the back of his neck, “sorry to show up like this, you don’t have to feed me.” He grins a little sheepishly and hangs his coat up on a lone hook, “just drink my wine and let me get out of that house.”  
  
Phichit makes a face, “done and done, but you also have to eat our food, Yuuri is way too polite and will never tell if it’s bad or not.”   
  
Yuuri makes a face up to him from the floor and Phichit just laughs, “unless of course, it was that barbeque I tried to make.” Phichit’s face grew awfully still, “but we don’t talk about that.”

 

Victor tilted his head slightly but shrugged, “well, I won’t say no to being fed, it smells good.”  
  
“Great!” Phichit beamed, “I made it out of a cookbook from a bus stop.”

 

Victor raises one eyebrow but Phichit was already turning around and heading back into the kitchen, Victor only had so many questions to pursue at once, he turns back to Yuuri.

“Yuuri, really,” he puts his hands on his hips, “you’ll spoil her more than she already is.”  
  
Yuuri just smiled and scratched her behind the ear, wrapping his arms around her neck and pressing his face into it, she ‘boofs’ softly.

 

Victor kneels down to their level and leans back, “fine, fine, she already knows she runs the household.”  
  
Yuuri smiles widely at that and rubs her belly, she rolls over. Victor settles down and eases himself to a sitting position.

 

“You really are a lifesaver though.” Yuuri looks up and his mouth makes a small ‘oh?’ like a question mark, “Yeah,” Victor nods, “The other Yuuri is a little, well, hmm, relentless. And he’s so young! I don’t even remember what I was doing at 17,” he wrinkled his nose, “I think I was in a psychic's game show.” He pouted, “I didn’t even win any money.”

 

Yuuri chuckled and inched a little closer to him, he held up his phone: **I’m sure you’ll have another chance**

 

Victor puts his hands up, “I’m a respected dog breeder now!” Yuuri laughs good-naturedly and all Victor can do is sit back again, “none of that anymore…” His eyes glaze over, he felt Yuuri studying him.

 

He begins a new message: **and** **no problem coming here. You can help me avoid my flashcards for a little longer and everything**

 

Victor furrowed his brow in the way he suspected was unattractive, he covers his forehead, “an accomplice to your procrastination? Now I really am just trouble everywhere.”

 

Yuuri flashes him a very innocent look, blinking his eyelashes and everything. Victor kicked him gently from his place on the floor and Yuuri makes an indignant noise. He throws a dog toy back at him.

 

Victor blinked at the little bone bounced off his head, recalling that Yuuri had still had just lost his dog weeks ago.

 

Victor racked his mind for perhaps something comforting to say or tip on how to make better risotto, he draws a blank.

 

Yuuri was finished typing else: **I have your scarf by the way.** He gestures to the hallway and nodded at it.

 

Victor frowned slightly before glancing back around, “keep it for now.” He leans back on his hands, “it doesn’t go with my hair.”  
  
Yuuri seemed to roll his eyes slightly and Victor laughed at the display, “but it is almost the same color as yours! It works,” He reached forward as if to touch a strand, “have you ever thought of growing it out?”

 

He catches one stray lock of dark hair and Yuuri lifts his chin curiously, they both pause.  
  
A heartbeat passes that Victor doesn’t miss, their eyes fixed on each other for a moment as he leans forward, the room is very still. Victor pulls back to prop himself up against the wall, “Yuuri,” he says slowly, the other man studies him, Victor tugged on his leather gloves, “what do you think of the color blue?”

 

Yuuri tilts his head and his brow wrinkles as he frowns, Victor searches the air above his head. Wisps of light blue shimmered like a veil of mist overhead. Something was there.

 

Yuuri didn’t have a chance to type back his honest and deep thoughts on the color blue (Victor assumed he might just have typed a couple question marks in a row), Phichit walked back in.

 

“This is my coup de grace!” Phichit called, holding two steaming plates and a large smile on his face, “and if it’s not, we at least have a dog to eat the rest of it for us.”  
  
Victor chuckles gently and dusts off his pants as he stands back up, “don’t give her any ideas.” Makkachin pants off to the side as if she didn’t already know.

 

Phichit winked in the corner to her, “don’t worry girl, I’m on your side.” He stage-whispered and Victor gave a huff.

 

“Come on Yuuri,” he reaches his hand down to help Yuuri up, “we have to present a united front for her own good.”  
  
Yuuri took his hand, it was warm in Victor’s gloved fingers, Yuuri just points at the dog and goes to her side of the room.

 

“Traitor,” he gives a dramatic sigh and Phichit snickers, he nudges him gently to take a seat as he places the dish down.

 

“We were just going to watch bad TV and eat there before, but now we can finally use this table from Yuuri’s aunt for once.” Victor hums and had noted it was a four-legged chester table in the middle of an admittedly bare room, it’s sheen was a little out of place.

 

“She had good taste,” Yuuri shrugs and takes a seat next to him.

He types, **She wanted to get me to come back**

 

Victor snorts, “I know that pressure.”

 

He eventually gets up to track down some wine glasses and pour the pinot himself, he explained the art of opening alcohol bottles came post-college.

 

They shake their heads at him.

 

He sits down contently as the two other boys clink their glasses together, “to the biology homework tomorrow.”  
  
Yuuri makes a face at him but they both drink.

 

“Oh,” Victor tucks in, “to be young and youthful.”  
  
Phichit glances at him, “young and in this kind of apartment? Thirty sounds great.”   
  
Victor slumped down, “I’m not thirty.” He pouts and tries to concentrate on the chicken, Yuuri gives him a friendly pat on the back.

 

His phone was on the table, **Phichit just means the pipes keep freezing over and there’s a spider in the bathtub of the apartment.**

 

Phichit gives Victor a meaningful look from across the table.

 

Victor nods astutely, “sounds like a dilemma...” he takes a bite of the chicken, “but this meal is fantastic! Wow. Let’s focus on that and not me going after your spider.” They chuckle and do another toast, to bad weather and chicken.

 

They begin to chat and eat and let Makkachin be fed scraps off to the side, Victor told them about the dramatic tale of loss and love with his recycling bin and Phichit talked animatedly about this man on TV. He wanted to meet him- he asked Victor if he should meet him. Victor said ‘why not?’ Though he suspects that’s not what he’s looking for.

 

Half-way through the meal they begin to hear a noisy pitter-patter of heavy raindrops on the window panes outside, the weather had finally given into the brewing black clouds overhead.

 

Victor glanced toward the rumbling noise of thunder in the distance, he sighs, “shame, I’ll have to call an uber later.” His heart sank at the prospect already. Phichit had left to help clear the table and Victor turns toward Yuuri, he wets his lips.

 

“Yuuri I think I was asking before,” he clears his throat, searching for a way to approach this, “do you... like blue that is? Or special blue objects?”

 

He wasn’t as great about getting information out of someone as he might have thought, most his clients just poured their entire life stories out to him before.

 

Yuuri frowns at him and writes on a notecard next to him, **blue?**

 

“Yes,” Victor nods, “I uh, I thought I’d get you a hat to go with the scarf? And wanted to check...if you liked blue.” It would be dangerous to get the boys hopes up on a soulmate that might be gone, after all, that could be what the wisps mean.

 

Yuuri was biting his lip slightly, **you don’t have to do that! The scarf is enough, really**

 

Victor snorts, “no, no, it’s already done.” Now he would have to buy a hat. He meets Yuuri’s eyes, “but does blue… mean anything to you?”  
  
Yuuri scrunched up his nose, **thank you, really,**   **any hat will be fine, it doesn’t have to be...meaningful?**

 

Victor had dug himself into a hole.

 

“Yuuri!” Phichit was saying from the livingroom, “I did the cooking, dishes are yours.”  
  
Yuuri stood up quickly and gave some affirmative signal with his hands, Victor stood up too, “I’ll help.”   
  
He didn’t bring up the color blue again as Yuuri scrubbed the plates and Victor dried them for him.

 

Victor simply went over his living conditions and the fact Mila had already used his shampoo. He rubs a pot dry absently.

 

“...They scuffed my floor and left streaks on my mirror already, not to mention bothering Leo when he came in about what ho-hos were, the only good thing was Mila picking up the couch so I could vacuum under it.” Yuuri seemed to pause to flash him a questioning look. He writes on the counter with the suds on his hand messily, ‘ **whole?** ’

 

“Oh,” Victor scratches his chin, “she’s a low-level esper, she can’t pick up any objects outside of her own body, but that means she can control her own limbs.” He shudders, “She’s frighteningly strong….but that’s what we pay her for.”  
  
Yuuri was still looking at him and Victor picked at his rag, “bodyguard.” He finally says, trying to answer whatever question Yuuri was asking. The rain pelts the side of the building and he can hear a thunder crack in the distance.

 

Victor grabs onto Yuuri’s shoulder at the sound, the lights flicker for a moment but the building seems to hold steady. They finish the dishes quickly as Yuuri set his jaw and nodded at Victor as they finished.

 

“No problem,” Victor smiled and tried to stall for time, he didn’t need to go back just yet. “Can I help with anything else?”  
  
Yuuri gave a sly smile back, he knew. He wipes his hands down to write something, **if you want to look at my vocabulary for a couple hours...**   
  
Victor wrinkled his nose, “What about something like party tricks? I can make shadow puppets and everything.”   
  
He chuckles at him warmly and then ushers him into the living room, it was another cramped rectangle space with a dusty gray carpet, but this time with a large potted plant and a little TV in the corner. Phichit sat in front of it with a book open on his lap, he doesn’t look over to them as he talks to them.

 

“Seung Gil is going to commune with this dolphin,” Phichit was touching the screen, “her swimming is going to be so freaking saved.”  
  
Victor watched curiously before sitting by Yuuri who was flipping through his cards and they all sat in a pleasant silence. He could have spent a long time there, near their couch, eyes glazed over and watching him.

 

The wind starts to whip at the window panes dangerously in the next couple minutes though, a second crackle of lightning split the air, he jumps at the noise of thunder that followed.

 

Victor looked around and then suddenly felt his pulse spike, his eyes went wide, “Where’s Makkachin?”

 

Both the other boys freeze and then Victor turns his head all directions, he gets to his feet, “your apartment’s not that big, right?”

 

He doesn’t wait for an answer as he darts toward the kitchen to make sure she was still lying in there, Victor sniffs unhappily when the room is empty.

 

“I’ll go look in my room!” Phicht was passing the kitchen and Yuuri was on his heels.

 

Victor makes sure the kitchen was clear too before opening some closet doors, he was pretty sure she hadn’t learned to turn doorknobs, but he felt compelled to check.

 

He checks under the kitchen sink wistfully and only stopped when Yuuri tapped him on the shoulder, he held up a card.

 

**Found her**

 

Victor exhales, “oh good, good. She hated storms as a puppy.”  
  
Yuuri frowns and waves him out of the room, Victor was surprised to find an open door leading to what could only be his room. Yuuri’s room.

 

It was small, like the rest of the house but held a white ikea dresser, built in closet, and posters plastering the walls around his studying desk.

 

The lights are off so he can’t make out all of the posters, but many of them are of ballet and some ice skating, a family photo hands above his headboard and a candle on his bedside table.

 

He wanted to study a little figurine on Yuuri’s desk, but Yuuri was crouching on the floor already, Victor follows him, he hears a faint whine. He sees a pile of curling brown fur in the corner under the bed.

 

“My love!” Victor calls as he sees Makkachin huddling there. “Makkachin, darling.” His heart sinks as she whines again softly, he crawls up toward her, “you’re okay.” He pets her sides softly until she seems to calm down again, he crawls back out from under the bed.

 

He slumps, “this isn’t good at all.”  
  
Yuuri was flashing him concerned looks, he holds up his glowing screen: **can I get her something? Can we do anything?**   
  
Victor just sighs, “we can just stay with her. The storm can’t last that long.” He blinks, “she likes blankets, that might help.”   
  
Yuuri jumped to his feet and went for his closet, Victor leans on the bed to be close to his dog. He certainly doesn’t look over intently as Yuuri reached for a top shelf, straining his back muscles and forcing the bottom of his sweater up, he certainly did work at a packing company.

 

Yuuri brings his two last blankets down and they wait quietly as the thunder shakes the earth to remind humans that they just played there, someone else owned it.

 

They sat next to the bed and wrapped her in some blankets as she gave a soft bark at the next crackle of lightning through the dark churning sky, he pets her.

 

After ten minutes Yuuri leaves to make some tea and bring a little hand-held game set, the tea is a warm chamomile and it makes his teeth less on edge.

 

Yuuri teaches Victor how to play Cooking Mama on PSP. The minutes tick by in the hopes the storm would wear itself out. Victor couldn’t help but relax as Yuuri shows him how to cook the little lobster dish and elbows him when Victor pokes the screen.

 

Yuuri keeps instrumental music on to counteract the blazing sound outside and Makkachin crawls slowly out to be with them, it’s a nice moment, but Victor can’t help but notice Yuuri yawning widely by then.

 

Victor takes a deep breath, “I shouldn’t keep you.” He blinks, “I won’t take her home in this, but… perhaps Makkachin can stay here for a little longer? I can leave you to sleep.”  
  
Yuuri glanced at him and then out the window, he looks around for another moment and writes on the screen: **it’s pouring out.** Victor squirms from side to side, Yuuri looks at him intently, **it’ll be bad outside... you can stay here with her if that would work**

 

Victor gulps dryly, that certainly wasn’t in his plans for the night.

 

The more rational part of his brain protested and said that he had things to do and other problems to solve, plus he had already shown up here practically uninvited already.

 

He bites the inside of his cheek and realizes Yuuri was focused on him, eyes dark and shiny behind his glasses, mouth slightly open. Victor purses his lips and nods.

 

“If it’s not too much trouble,” Victor shifted from to side, “that might be a good idea under the circumstances.”  
  
Yuuri gives a small grin before getting up again, he walked over to his dresser and rifled around in it, Victor didn’t expect to be given a loose pair of sweatpants and a ‘Florida: The Sunshine State!’ T-shirt.

  
They are both a bit small.

 

Yuuri nods at him: **we have an extra toothbrush too. We have a couple actually, there was a sale at a costco Phichit ended up at**

 

Victor grins, “have I ever mentioned how much I like your household?”  
  
Yuuri snorts and nudges him out of the room so he can get ready for bed, the bags under Yuuri’s eyes were showing through by then. Victor felt bad again.

 

Getting ready in an alien house felt very surreal, especially with the storm rumbling outside and a bathtub that Victor did not want to look into. He wanders around the apartment when he’s done and tells Phichit that it was just for the night.

 

Phichit seemed nonplussed and asked if they could get a puppy in return. Victor said only if they had a couple thousand dollars to spare.

 

“Well alright, I guess I should finishing studying too,” he turns the TV off and waves goodnight to Victor, his eyes were asking a different question but Victor doesn’t answer them. He goes to get another glass of water.

 

Yuuri eventually emerges again and shuffles up to Victor in the kitchen, Victor looks around.

 

“Do you want me to use one of the blankets for the couch?” He asks evenly as Yuuri rubbed his neck.

 

Yuuri shifted back and forth and glanced around the room, Victor tilts his head, “What is it?”  
  
Yuuri held up a piece of paper, it looked like it was prewritten: **you can stay on the couch if you want, but...I’d feel a little bad about it**

 

Victor soon learned that they got the couch from their deceased upstairs neighbor. Who had had many many cats.

 

Victor did not try to smell the couch after that or wonder about the person who might have died there, he cringes, “are there...other options?”  
  
Yuuri points guiltily and scrawls again, **it is a queen…**

 

Victor blinks. He was saying he had a queen bed. Victor makes a noise and Yuuri waits for a moment, finally, he writes that he’s going to lie down for a moment and Victor could come when he was ready.

 

He has to walk around in tight little circles when Yuuri left after that.

 

This was definitely not how he thought the night would go.

 

He drinks a cold glass of water before shuffling on back to Yuuri’s room.

 

The trip was slow, one where he inspected the walls. He only finally opens the door when he hears steady breathing from within, he pauses when he sees Makkachin already on the bed, curling up on top of the covers. Yuuri was curled around her, his face open and squished against her side.

 

Victor softly tries to walk over and bend over him, he nudges him gently, “do you want me to…?” He gestures at the bed as if to confirm the deal.  
  
Yuuri took a moment to rouse and yawned widely, his glasses were gone and his hair slicked back from his quick shower earlier. Victor hunches slightly, it was different.

 

Yuuri just looks at him sordidly when he asked again, Victor opens his mouth but Yuuri grabs onto his shirt collar and tugs him onto the bed.

 

Victor follows instinctively, tired Yuuri seemed tired enough to pull him onto his side of the bed irritably. Victor wasn’t exactly complaining.

 

Makkachin licked his face as he fit himself into the queen, stretching his legs and pulling the covers up. Yuuri was already crashed down on his pillow when Victor settled in across from him,  Makkachin was back asleep in the middle, cozy between their two bodies.

 

Victor watches Yuuri’s sleeping face for a long minute, his chest rising and falling. Victor couldn’t see much in the dark, but his lashes were long and features peaceful, lost to the waking world.

 

Victor drifts off as the rain slowed and Yuuri’s steady breathing lulled him into something dark and dreamless.


	9. Adulthood

How do you politely shove someone off you? How do you politely shove someone off you who you sort of don’t want shoved off.

Yuuri is faced with a prisoner’s dilemma as he woke up that morning, his body temperature ricocheting through his body and a heartbeat pressed up against his chest. He was snoring, softly at least, and his face pushed the other direction on Yuuri’s pillow.

Yuuri studied the back of his silver head.

He was on top of him, limbs and hips and torso, a steadily rising and falling chest. There was a sharp hip bone pressed into his soft stomach and he groaned slightly when he heard his phone alarm go off that morning and felt the slight stab of it.

Yuuri stared at the ceiling, mulling on his own thoughts as his mind caught up to reality.

He was warm.

Makkachin was curled up on his right side and her little doggy paw dug sharply into his right shoulder, she must have crawled up during the night and decided she belonged squashed right up next to them.

Her head lulled on his other pillow and Yuuri was only consoled by her bowed furry and peaceful look, he also had a one ton vase of man lying directly on top of him. The bed wasn’t made for two people and a dog, and Yuuri wasn’t exactly made for this situation.

It was challenging his social graces in the way that rivaled asking teachers to use the restroom in the middle of class. 

A heavy weight bore down on his front, a knee stabbed his left thigh and the world was a foggy little dreary heated swamp dream.

It was warm, it was incredibly warm almost from head to toe and he starts to shift slowly back and forth as he is very aware of contact, full contact. His breath catches in his throat as Victor’s hand softly brushes his neck.

This was a situation.

He bites his bottom lip and thinks about his own forwardness, dragging Victor into bed after him in a fit of annoyance, doing this. Yuuri tries to wiggle up and away. He grunts and slowly, slowly goes to poke Victor in the shoulder.

“Mmmm,” He hums and tries to shake him.

He goes to nudge his sleeping figure, moving his arm and trying to escape the vast warmth that pressed against him. Something in the back of his mind told him to stay still, like a question that he didn’t know what to do with, to stay still and let Victor's weight hold him there. Yuuri frowns.

Victor was just being Victor, and that included snuggling with part time acquittances half-time friends. It wasn’t anything.

He pokes his shoulder again, _come on._

He watches Victor’s face scrunch for a moment and Yuuri relaxes, he was waking. Victor kicked absently and then buried his face into Yuuri’s neck like a warmth-seeking reptile. “Uh,” Yuuri shivers from the sudden contact and the breath breaking against his skin. Oh.

He juts his elbow up into Victor’s side, less gently this time, and watches as the man wiggles into consciousness and blinks open his sharp blue eyes. Yuuri is momentarily taken back by the blurry sheen of that blue.

He clears his throat.

It takes a moment, Victor looks back and forth, first to his right at Makkachin and then all the way to his left to the bedside clock. Yuuri’s bio class would start in 45 minutes.

Victor takes a very long moment to find Yuuri’s face and he hears a little guttural sound.

“Yuuri!” Victor scrambles backward and they both feel the slide of skin against skin as he tries to adjust his weight and their legs knock into each other. “Good morning.”  
  
His cheeks were slightly flushed and Yuuri pushes his own hair back, it’s awkward in the way trying to move past another person in the supermarket was awkward and you both kept stepping in the same direction.

“I hope, well, good morning.” Victor keeps looking back and forth.  
  
Yuuri shakes his head and they finally manage to back away, both of their cheeks pink, Yuuri folds his legs up in front of him.

 _We’re both adults_ Yuuri chides himself. _You can handle a silly sleepy...hug._

Victor gives a dry chuckle, “Well!” Yuuri glances at him, Victor goes to pet his dog who tenses her haunches slightly, “I guess I owe you some flowers perhaps.” He was joking, Yuuri’s mouth falls open, he's joking like this.

He looks away and sniffs, Yuuri takes a deep breath and reaches for his glasses, shoving them on.

He grapples with his phone and types, **save them. I’ll accept a hot meal instead.**

Victors eyebrows were raised, “I’ll make it myself.”

Yuuri's stomach flutters, that’s not exactly what he meant, he doesn’t meet his eye and tries to glide over this.

He writes quickly: **and de-furring of my covers too.**

Victor smiles, “of course.” He squirms under the sheets, “I _am_ very thankful by the way, for,” he pauses and Yuuri wonders if this Victor Nikiforov could get nervous. He meets his eye, “for letting us share.”

Yuuri checks the time, his face ears heating somewhat, **it’s no problem.** He writes, his mouth making a squiggle shape on his face **. have to get to class soon but stay as long as you like!**

“I couldn’t,” Victor’s bangs were falling into his eyes, he hugs Makkachin to him, “I’m honestly being outdone in regards to hospitality left and right already.”

Yuuri smiles warmly and laughs a little, he could accept that. A little. He nods.

He pushes the covers off and swings his legs forward, something prickles on his neck and looks back.  
  
Victor’s eyes were falling up and down him, taking in Yuuri’s baggy sleep shirt, he self-consciously tugs at the side falling off his left shoulder. He adjusts his glasses, Victor is still looking.

“Yuuri,” Victor says slowly, a moment of silence tenses between them like sunshine reflecting brilliantly off polished glass. Yuuri has to stop what he’s doing, Victor looks on ahead. “Tell me,” he itches his wrist, “tell me if you see anything particularly blue this week.” He expresses cryptically and Yuuri tilts his head, trying to run through a list of what that could possibly mean. The silence stretches until his second alarm on his phone goes off and Yuuri jumps.

Makkachin stirs as well. She rolls over and shifts their equilibrium, Victor pets her, “walk in a second girl.”

She gets up to stretch and both Yuuri and Victor are jostled toward the center of the bed.

“Whoa girl,” she steps toward Victor and he moves forward, over-correcting just as Makkachin shifts the bed again, Victor sways and falls forward onto Yuuri’s lap.

Yuuri jumps like he's an astronaut on a moon walk, they both practically fall out of bed.

 _We’re adults!_ Yuuri rolls away on the floor like a forceful hardboiled egg.

He’s forced to crawl to the door and dart out to the bathroom, Victor is still quietly looking at him as he leaves. He tries to dismiss a lot of things as he closes the door behind him. He waves at Phichit briefly before he barricades himself in the next room.

Yuuri splashes his face with water three times after getting to the bathroom and then takes his time washing his hands and brushing his teeth. _One, two, three_ he counts, he could do this. Talking noises eventually floats in from the kitchen. They sound jovial luckily.

Yuuri takes a deep breath and pushes down any thoughts he was having, tackling them to the ground and pulling down his shirt to hide the word ‘hi hello there’ on his arm.

He hears more chattering from the kitchen and finishes flattening his hair down, some things had to be dealt with.

He goes out and puts on a smile, Victor made him an egg and mentions something about blue again, the color blue. Yuuri heads out for class blankly and wishes psychics were clear about they actually mean.


End file.
